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Class —Lil'iiia- 
Book .UT 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



Columbia TDlniversit^ 
Contributions to Education 

Tleacbers College Serieo 



No. !7 



THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVING 
SCHOOL IN MASSACHUSETTS 



HARLAN UPDEGRAFF, A. M. 



Published by 

Teachers College, Columbia University 

New York City 

1908 



USrtARlf of C0f«tirtEJi3. 

JUL 2 TiJOB 

COPY a. 



Al- 



COPYRIGHT T9o8 

BY 

TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



PREFACE 



This study aims to treat intensively the subject of school con- 
trol in Massachusetts from the time of settlement to the first 
decades of the eighteenth century and to account for that develop- 
ment in so far as it bore upon the creation of the moving school. 
Because of the close connection between the abolition of the 
tuition-tax and the establishment of the moving school it is neces- 
sary to describe the evolution of school support during the same 
period. 

The first four chapters — those which deal with the evolution 
of school control and of school support — may not seem to be 
logically connected with the subject proper. They are, in fact, 
an introduction to it, made necessary for the reasons that school 
control up to the present time has been considered as progressing 
during the seventeenth century from control of the many to con- 
trol of the few, whereas the reverse is the truth ; and also because 
no study has yet been made, and the results presented, of the 
subject of school support for this period. While there is a 
unity in the whole by reason of the fact that it was written from 
a single point of view — that of describing in a complete manner 
the origin of the moving school, yet the discussion of the reasons 
for its creation begins with Chapter V. The preceding chapters 
serve the purpose of paving the way for a satisfactory presenta- 
tion of the subject proper as contained in the last six chapters. 

Two appendices are added which contain all the official local 
records bearing upon schools that are extant up to 1648. The 
purpose in presenting this material is to aid the reader in reflect- 
ing for himself upon the conclusion of the text concerning the 
records of these earliest years, which are so difficult to interpret 
satisfactorily. It must not be forgotten, however, that when the 
material is so meagre the grounds for a proper point of view in 
their interpretation can be determined only as a result of a very 
careful consideration of the entire system of civil administration 
as it existed, and of the practices in school administration both 
previous and subsequent to that time. 



2 Preface. 

My gratitude for help in this study is due especially to Presi- 
dent Nicholas Murray Butler under whose instruction interest in 
this line of study was stimulated, to Professor Herbert L. Osgood, 
who has been very helpful in all questions relating to the develop- 
ment of civil institutions, and to Professor Paul Monroe, under 
whose immediate direction the work was done, and who has con- 
tributed much by kindly criticism and suggestion to all phases of 
the study. 

Bureau of Education. 

February, 1908. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Chapter I 

Control and Support of the Church-Town School 

Part I. — Methods of Support 

The school a purely local institution previous to 1647 ^^ 

The agencies of local government 12 

Functions of local government in administration of schools 13 

Principles followed in interpretation of records 14 

Sources of support of English schools 15 

Sources of support of Puritan schools in England 15 

Methods of support of church in America 17 

Evolution of "poor rate" and "church rate" from the contribution. 19 

English methods of support in America 21 

The period of the contribution — to 1639 22 

The contribution at Boston in 1636 22 

Social and economic conditions favorable to contribution 24 

Examination of records indicates its general prevalence 27 

The period of the compulsory contribution, 1639-47 29 

Its two tendencies illustrated in Boston and Salem 29 

The "voluntary" feature illustrated in Dedham and Roxbury 32 

Records of other towns considered 34 

The compulsory contribution predominant 36 

Chapter II 

Control and Support of the Church-Town School 

Part II. — Agencies of Control 

The agencies of control and their functions 38 

The problem stated 38 

Puritans predisposed to aristocratic control in church and state 39 

Puritan theory placed control of the school in the church 39 

Reasons for placing control of schools in local civil governments.. . 41 

Examination of town records 42 

The necessary legislative functions stated 43 

Legislative action was necessary in years in which no record appears . 43 

The selectmen performed the greater part of this legislation 46 

Conclusion 50 



4 Contents. 

Chapter III 

Control and Support of the Civil School 

Part I. — Methods of Support 

PAGE 

Effect of the law of 1647 upon school control and support 52 

Different methods of raising the master's salary 56 

First few years characterized by dominance of rate and tuition, used 

singly 56 

Reasons for abandonment of rate as single source of support 60 

Support during remainder of century characterized by different 

combinations of tuition-tax and town rate 60 

Tuition-tax on scholars and balance by town rate 61 

Tuition-tax on all children of school age and balance by town rate. 63 

Town rate of fixed amount and all income from tuition-tax 64 

The town rate the chief source of support in Boston and Braintree ... 66 

Chapter IV 

Control and Support of the Civil School 

Part II. — Agencies of Control 

The period characterized by increasing democratization and secu- 
larization 68 

The two types of control 70 

The decline of the aristocratic control in various towns 70 

Variety in extent of ministerial power given selectmen in towns of 

second type 78 

The evolution of the school committee 81 

Laws of 1654 and 1692 affected control indirectly 82 

Chapter V 

Social Disintegration 

Communal nature of society of first settlers 84 

The disruption of the church and of the old social bonds 86 

Subordination of church to state 91 

A civil society ruled by selfish considerations 92 

Extent of disintegration at close of century 93 

Chapter VI 

Dispersion of Population 

Limitations placed upon earliest settlements 94 

Motives working for extension of settlements 96 

These raotives became dominant about 1660 97 

Effect of the wars upon the form of settlement 100 



Contents. 5 

PAGE 

The form of settlement in towns at the close of the century loi 

Effect of dispersion of population upon the origin of the moving 

school 102 

Difficulties of travel, severity of winters, spring floods, extent of the 

forests and their dangers 102 

Character of roads and of vehicles 102 

The topography of the country 103, 

Chapter VII 

Intellectual Decline 

Change in motives for education 107 

General opposition to schools 108 

Discontinuance of schools and shorter terms 109 

Artifices to avoid penalties of law iii 

Poor attendance iii 

Altered curriculum 112 

Social and economic conditions did not require education 113 

Hard economic conditions discouraged support of school 114 

Intellectual acquirements of people 115 

Tendency to dispense with reading and writing school 115 

Beginning of educational revival 116 

Two instances illustrating transitional character of period 118 



Chapter VIII 

Decentralizing Tendencies of Democracy 

The movement outlined 121 

Political system promoted development of democracy 122 

Influence of parish on origin of moving school 124 

Influence of evolution of precincts for care of highways 129 

Influence of division of offices among several men 132 

Conditions at close of century in administration of civil affairs .... 134 

Chapter IX 

The Dame School 

Instruction in private schools and families 136 

Early existence of dame school 137 

Located in all parts of town 139 

Relation to town and higher private schools 140 

Effect upon creation of moving school 141 

Effect shown in concrete instances 141 

The private reading and writing school kept by a master had same 

effect 145 



6 Contents. 

Chapter X 
The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax 

PAGE 

The educational revival 1 50 

The law ofiyoi 151 

The origin of the moving school closely related to the abolition of 

the tuition-tax 152 

This illustrated in two typical towns 153 

Connection between two events established in other towns 163 

Towns which never had tuition-tax confirm general principle 166 

Also towns which established the divided school 167 

The two exceptions do not affect validity of conclusion 169 

Conclusion 

Summary of origin of moving school 171 

Outline of development of moving school into the school district . . 172 

Appendices 174 

List of References 182 



INTRODUCTION 



The town in Massachusetts was the original local unit for 
control of schools. The school district was evolved out of the 
town through a long process extending from the middle of the 
seventeenth century to about the close of the first quarter in 
the nineteenth century. The moving school was the first and 
most distinctive step in that process. Roughly the period of 
its general dominance was the first half of the eighteenth century. 

This study is an attempt to account for the establishment of the 
moving school. Speaking generally, it was wanted because the 
central original fixed, or standing, school failed to satisfy longer 
the new conditions arising in the development of colonial life. 
Many of these new conditions were in themselves a product of 
slow growth, extending back over the entire latter half of the 
seventeenth century. As a result this treatment deals for the 
most part with the life of this earlier period. 

This study properly belongs to the history of school adminis- 
tration. As such it lies both in the field of the history of education 
and of political history. From the standpoint of the former the 
creation of the moving school may be studied as throwing light 
upon the efficiency of the school district as an educational institu- 
tion ; from the point of view of political history the movement may 
be regarded as an evolution of a new organ of local government. 
This study aims to satisfy both points of view. By showing the 
educational situation which gave rise to the institution, a basis of 
criticism is established which has its application to the present 
problem of the abolition of the school district. On the other 
hand, by considering the control of schools as but one of the 
many subjects of local administration, some of which were closely 
related to it and passing through a similar process of evolution, 
the subject is treated as an evolution of a new political institu- 
tion. As such the school district must possess great interest, 
for it displays the genius of the American people in the con- 
struction of a new type of institution to meet a new situation. 
Of all the steps in the process leading to its formation, the 
moving school will ever claim the greatest attention, as it 



8 Introduction. 

was in its creation that this genius reached its highest flight. It 
is also true that the remarkable part in the entire process was 
confined to the first step. The later development was a result of 
familiar tendencies which are always working in the body politic 
and was characterized by a gradual even advance, while the 
moving school was a great step forward and the beginning of a 
different order of things. 

To understand the rise of the moving school, it is necessary 
to understand the character of the control of the town school and 
its tendencies from the time of its establishment. This is to be 
determined primarily by a study of the town records. For the 
distribution of powers between the central and local governments 
gave large powers to the town in strictly local affairs ; and in the 
matter of methods of school control there was little interference 
by the General Court. Its efforts were directed toward strength- 
ening the work that the agencies of the local governments should 
do rather than toward prescribing what agencies should per- 
form it. 

While the creation of the moving school as a step in the evolu- 
tion of the school district is properly a subject in the evolution 
of school control, yet its establishment was closely related with 
a distinctive change in the methods of school support. In con- 
sequence, to understand fully the rise of the moving school it is 
necessary to know the character and tendencies of school support 
subsequent to the time of its formation. This information is to 
be obtained from the town records for the same reasons as stated 
in the preceding paragraph. 

The evolution of school control and the evolution of school 
support were closely united. They were interdependent, pro- 
foundly affecting each other. There were two distinct periods in 
their evolution, first that of the church-town school from the 
beginning to 1647, ^^^ ^^at of the civil school from 1647 ^o the 
time of the establishment of the moving school. This division 
into periods will be observed in their treatment, first studying 
the methods of raising the master's salary in the church-town 
school and then in the civil school, and then the distribution of 
the functions of control between the various governmental 
agencies in each of the two periods. In this way the close rela- 
tion between the movements mav be shown. 



Introduction. 



After the way has thus been prepared the bearing of the social, 
economic, and general political development of the same periods 
whereby the stationary central school was rendered unsatisfac- 
tory and a new institution required in order to meet the situation, 
may be intelligently appreciated. This development will be pre- 
sented under the headings of Social Disintegration, Dispersion of 
Population, Intellectual Decline, and Decentralizing Tendencies 
of Democracy. 

But there was another influence outside of this field which 
had a great deal to do with the founding of the moving school. 
It was the existence of private master's and dame's schools. Of 
these, the latter is best known and was probably on the whole the 
more influential. They are both discussed under the heading, The 
Dame School. Finally, as the most immediate cause of the 
creation of the moving school, Abolition of the Tuition Tax is 
presented. In this chapter connection is made with the previous 
treatment of the evolution of school support. The causes of 
this particular step are set forth and its important bearing upon 
the establishment of the moving school fully demonstrated. 



CHAPTER I 

CONTROL AND SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH-TOWN 

SCHOOL 

PART I METHODS OF SUPPORT 

1635-1647 

The school of the Puritan was a very simple institution com- 
pared with the school of today. It was held in one room, usually 
in a private house, and taught as a rule by a single teacher. 
There were both the private school taught by a master, and the 
school which the local government controlled in some way, and 
which for that reason may be called the town school. It is 
generally accepted to be true that the private school antedates 
the town school and that they existed side by side throughout all 
the colonial history. 

The establishment of a town school as distinct from a private 
school was wholly a matter of local initiative until 1647. ^^i this 
year a law was passed compelling all towns of fifty householders 
and over to have a school open to all the children in the town. 
With the motives that led these church-towns to provide a town 
school we are not here concerned. It is rather the political 
aspect of their action which we must notice. Legally the General 
Court was the source of all governmental authority and the towns 
could perform only acts which had the warrant of this supreme 
power. But from the beginning the town met in town meeting — 
the general court of the settlement — elected officers, legislated 
upon some matters of purely local concern without interference 
and apparently with the full, though tacit, approval of the General 
Court. (^^ Finally the right to do so was confirmed by an ex- 
press act of the colonial legislature in the year 1636. This act 
ratified and confirmed the course of procedure already practiced 
by the towns and in granting them the authortiy " to make such 
orders as may concern the well ordering of their towns not re- 
pugnant to the laws and orders here established by the General 
Court "(^^ gave them a wide range of power for the future. 

(•) Salem Recs. p. 7. 

(') Mass. Col. Recs. I. p. 172. 



12 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The principle of local initiative was legally established in local 
civil affairs by this act. The continued observance of it in educa- 
tional affairs has caused local practice to be in advance of central 
legislation in the framing of institutions. 

In the dozen years preceding the passage of the first colonial 
law regarding schools different towns proceeded in the establish- 
ment of a town school under this general grant of power. As 
it was purely a local affair each town proceeded in its own way. 
In consequence there resulted a great variety in the details of 
control and support. In these first two chapters an attempt will 
be made to determine the nature of the common fundamental 
elements in the variety of plans and processes. 

When a town took action concerning a school it did so by 
means of the agencies of local government already established, 
or, if these were not satisfactory or sufficient, it created others. 
These were the town meeting, and its subordinate agencies, the 
selectmen, the permanent school committee, and the temporary 
committee. The last need receive but little attention in these 
first two chapters, however, because of its rarity and comparative 
unimportance. 

The town meeting was an assembly of all those who were 
eligible to vote on town affairs. Eligibility did not rest on the 
narrow qualification of church membership that was fundamental 
in colonial citizenship. From the very beginning the " freemen " 
of the colonial government admitted those who were not church 
members into the local corporation and gave them their votes. 
This custom was legalized by the action of the General Court in 
1635^^^ and more specifically defined in 1647. (^^ Thus the action, 
of town meetings upon schools have always been acts of bodies 
which in theory at least were democratic. ^^^ 

By the word " selectmen " we mean here to designate those 
bodies of men who were appointed by the town meetings to per- 
form a certain class of functions, and known variously as the 
" selectmen," which became the common term later, the " selected 
townsmen," " ye chosen men for managing the prudential 
affairs," the " prudential men," " the town representative," the 
"five," the "seven," the "nine," or "thirteen" men.(*) In 



(>) Mass. Col. Recs. .1. p. i6i. 

(2) Ibid II. p. 197. 
_ (3) A "valid vote" must have had the support of a majority of the "freemen" either 
m town meeting or in the selectmen's meeting. 

(4) Howard, Local Const. Hist. p. 74; Doyle, English Colonies II.; p. 11. 



Control and Support of the Church-Tozvn School. 13 

general they may be regarded as the ministerial officers of the 
town meeting. 

The school committee performed the duties and exercised the 
powers fixed upon it by the town meeting. The functions are 
usually definitely stated; so, there is little uncertainty as to its 
powers. 

Having described the agencies of local government, let us now 
proceed to define the functions of government performed by 
them. As in all cases of distribution of governmental powers 
they may be divided into the legislative and administrative 
functions, the former embracing the expression of the will of 
the people of the town, and the latter the execution of that will 
as expressed. (^^ The legislative and administrative functions 
included doubtless great variety of detail, but only the necessary 
actions — the minimum amount necessary to secure the establish- 
ment and continuance of a town school — need here be considered. 

These were as follows : 

1. Legislative functions. 

a. Decision to have a school — i.e., to secure a master. 

b. Election of the master. 

c. Determination of how master should be paid. 

d. The amount to be paid master, or, 

e. Length of term. 

2. Administrative functions. 

Securing the money to pay the master, aiding in the finding of 
a master, fixing the time for his school to begin, renting of 
house for his school when there was no town house for the 
school, providing fuel, fixing school hours, making incidental 
rules and regulations, paying the master, etc. 

In regard to this outline of minimum governmental action 
several things should be said. In the first place, it cannot be 
applied to any one town on account of the variety of methods 
used in the various towns. Second, the entire scheme emphasizes 
the master, for the reason that he was the primary and ahnost 
the sole factor in many of the schools except the scholars, and 
the only one dealt with in the town records with that degree of 
frequency and continuity which enables the student to analyze 



(}) Goodnow, Politics and Administration pp. 16-23. 



14 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

and trace the development of control and support. Third, the 
election of the master is placed under the head of legislative 
action, because it was regarded as one of the functions of govern- 
ment which should be participated in by all the people in the 
primary assembly. He was looked upon in much the same way 
as the pastor of the church.(^> Fourth, the scheme presents an 
arbitrary division : the validity or invalidity of this division is of 
no importance, however, in the conclusions. 

This study of school control and support must determine which 
of the agencies performed these various functions during this 
period of the church-town school ; and also what methods were 
used in supporting- the master. As dealing with matters of 
support constituted some of the prominent governmental func- 
tions concerning the school, it follows that the decision as to the 
agency adopted to carry on the legislative and administrative 
features connected with support would be conditioned by the 
methods of raising the money. It will therefore facilitate the 
progress of this study and secure a clearer understanding of the 
situation to examine the records first with the point in view of 
determining the manner in which the towns secured the money 
to support the master of these town schools. 

The meagreness, indefiniteness, and the small number of the 
records bearing upon schools present many obstacles to the 
student. It is possible to fill in the skeleton of knowledge they 
furnish of school control and support for different concei^tions 
of what was done. In consequence this study has required 
extreme caution. It was necessary to apply constantly certain 
principles of historical interpretation. These the reader must 
likewise bear in mind. They presented themselves to the author 
as he began his study, as follows : 

First, as institutions do not spring up full-fledged from the 
mind of man, but rather are the gradual outgrowth of those which 
preceded them, so it is to be expected that the agencies of control 
and methods of support of the Puritan school were shaped to 
some extent at least by, if not literally copied after, the practices 
of school administration as they existed previously and contem- 
poraneously in England. It is, therefore, necessary that these 
English practices be kept constantly in mind in the interpretation 
of the records. 

(') De Montmorency, State intervention in English Education, pp. 101-2. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 15 

Second, though previous institutions furnish the basis upon 
which new institutions are founded, the entire life of the people 
who modify the old in the construction of the new plays a 
prominent part in the process. It is, therefore, necessary that one 
understand the relation of the school to the other institutions in 
the colonial society, the political theories of the Puritans par- 
ticularly as they bore upon local government, and their practices 
in the support and control of other public enterprises. All these 
features of the new elements in the Puritan civilization must be 
given due weight in reaching our conclusions. 

Third, the interpretation given to the records must be con- 
sistent with an orderly evolution of institutions from this period 
to the following. It is requisite also that this evolution be satis- 
factorily accounted for. 

Fourth, when the above standards fail to point to one con- 
clusion, it may then be taken into account that the Puritans 
were an eminently practical people. It was their habit to take 
the " short cut " and to choose the method which seemed the 
simplest and most direct. 

Fifth, all preconceptions of Puritan practices must be laid 
aside, and the reading into the past of present conditions avoided. 

Methods of Raising the Master's Salary ^^^ 

The sources of school support in general use during the early 
seventeenth century in England were annuities from the crown, 
rent from land, income from endowment, and tuition. No 
instance of the levying of a civil tax is known to have occurred ; 
and certainly it was not a common thing for a town to take 
money out of its treasury for the support of any school within its 
limits. (-) It can be safely said that the levying of a local tax, 
if it ever did occur, was so singular and rare a thing that it could 
not have produced any appreciable influence upon the Mas- 
sachusetts settlers. 

To the Puritan in Europe and in England the school was sub- 
ordinate to the church ; its chief object was to secure the estab- 
lishment of the " true religion," ^^^ or as it is stated in another 

O) The references to the town records before 1647 are not given in the text but in the 
appendix in connection with the records as there given. The reader should consult the 
appendix frequently. 

(*) Monroe. Hist, of Education, 393-s; Stow. The Elizabethan Grammar-Schools. In 
preparation. 

(3) Ibid, pp. 433-7. Grant's Burgh Schools of Scotland, pp. 76-80. 

2 



i6 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

place, " the education of children in piety, and good literature." 
This subordination of school to church is shown most clearly 
among the English Puritans in the Welsh Education Act, passed 
by the Cromwellian parliament in 1649. Its title " an Act for 
the better Propagation and Preaching of the Gospel in Wales 
and Redress of Some Grievances " reveals its tenor. It provided 
for the appointment of Commissioners who among other things, 
had the right to grant certificates to " Ministers of the Gospel 
for the preaching of the Gospel in settled Con- 
gregations and Parochial charges or for the keeping of 

Schools and Education of Children."^^) 

Their views as to methods of support of schools were under 
such conditions, strengthened by the force of practice of the 
preceding centuries, inseparably bound up with the methods of 
the support of the church. This is shown in this same act. The 
commissioners were directed to receive and disperse " all and 
singular the rents, issues, and profits of all ecclesiastical livings 
within the disposal of parliament provided that the yearly main- 
tenance of a Minister do not exceed one hundred pounds, and the 
yearly maintenance of a School-master exceed not forty 
pounds."^ -^ The most prominent school founded under the pro- 
visions of this act was supported by endowment. Another in- 
stance of this close connection of church and school is seen in 
Chapter 31 of the year 1649. By it the first-fruits and tenths 
created by Henry VIII were vested in trustees upon trust " to 
pay yearly all such salaries, stipends, allowances, and provisions, 
as have been limited or appointed for preaching the Gospel, 
Preaching Ministers, or Schoolmasters or others in England or 
Wales, settled or confirmed by Ordinance or Order of Par- 
liament." In the event, however, that the amount of first-fruits 
and tenths did not reach £20,000, then " some other part of the 
yearly revenue payable into the exchequer should be provided to 
make up the deficiency." ^^^ 



(1) De Montmorency, State Intervention, p. 102. 

(2) Ibid, p. 102. 

(3) Ibid. pp. 103-4. Note. — Although there is nothing to show positively that the 
measures framed in the efforts of the Puritan to establish schools in other countries had 
a direct influence upon the plans of the Massachusetts settlers, yet even if there was 
a bond of connection between the movements, there is nothing in the history of edtica- 
tion in these countries that materiallv differs from the situation in England as set forth 
in these two acts. Monroe, Hist, of Education, pp. 433-7. Grant, pp, 76-80 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. ly 

The Puritan in America undoubtedly adhered to the same 
fundamental views regarding the relation of the school to the 
church and the sources of its support as did the Puritan in Eng- 
land. While some features of the English laws of 1649 ^^^ the 
effect of the experiences of Massachusetts in dealing with the 
questions of schools, yet the fundamental proposition in the Welsh 
Education Act regarding support, that the school should be sup- 
ported from the church funds, had undoubtedly been held by all 
the Puritans for over a half century before the emigration to 
America. It may therefore be affirmed that it is reasonable to 
expect that this principle was carried out in America. 

This necessitates an inquiry into the sources of support of the 
church in Massachusetts. It is to be expected at the outset that 
it will be different from that referred to in the acts of 1649 be- 
cause of the difference in conditions. Inquiry shows that the 
first method was the contribution, the second, its lineal descend- 
ant, the compulsory contribution. 

The "contribution " as it was first spoken of was grounded 
upon the practice of the early church at Corinth. Authority was 
given for its use in December 1633 when " after much deliber- 
ation and serious advice, the Lord directed the teacher Mr. 
Cotton, to make it clear by Scriptures, that the minister's main- 
tenance, as well as all other charges of the church, should be 
defrayed out of a stock or treasury, which was to be raised out 
of the weekly contribution, which accordingly was agreed 
upon." ^^'^ It became a regular feature of the Sunday service, 
and is thus described by Lech ford, " Prior to the dispersion of 
the people in the afternoon, a contribution is taken. One of the 
deacons, saying, ' Brethren of the congregation, as God has pros- 
pered you, so freely offer,' the magistrates and chief gentlemen 
first, and then the elders and all the congregation of men, and 
most of them tliat are not of the church, all single persons, 
widows and women, in absence of their husbands, come up one 
after another one way, and bring their offerings to the deacon 
at his seat, and put it into a box of wood for the purpose if it be 
money or paper ; if it be any other chattel, they set or lay it down 
before the deacons, and so pass another way to their seats 
again." (2) 

(1) Felt, Ecclesiastical History of N, E. I. p. 162. 
(») Ibid. I. p. 433. 



i8 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The example set by the Boston church was generally fol- 
lowed/^^ It was the substitute for the tithe of the old church, 
which in many respects it resembles. Like it, the " stock " thus 
raised was spent for the maintenance of the clergy, the preserva- 
tion of the fabric or church buildings, and the benefit of the 
poor.(^> Of these three avenues of expenditure the first per- 
sisted in America the longest. Some of the congregations at first 
built their meeting houses from the proceeds of the rate, as at 
Watertown.^^^ However as late as 1641 at least, the contribution 
was still generally used for this second purpose. Lechford tells 
us that on " extraordinary occasions, as the building or repair- 
ing of the meeting house and other necessities, the ministers press 
a liberal contribution with efifectual exhortation out of the Scrip- 
tures. "(*> Watertown in 1642 levied a "rate" for the support 
of the poor and Salem in 1643 began aiding the poor by a tax 
levied upon the inhabitants. ^^^ On the other hand in Boston as 
late as 1684 the original custom continued. (*^^ The practice of 
supporting the minister continued in Boston for over a cen- 
tury, (^^ but by 1660, it had been given up in practically all other 
towns.^*) 

It was abandoned because it was not successful. Of this 
feature Prince quaintly says speaking of Plymouth, " But grow- 
ing in knowledge and I suppose in the apprehension that such a 
practice was peculiarly accommodated to the age of inspiration 
(i Cor. XIV, 30) which they never pretended to, they, after 
gradually lay it down." (®' In Massachusetts the difficulty did 
not lie wholly with the church members, the more covetous of 
whom were inclined to give too little and the liberal too much. 
Those who were not members of the church were naturally op- 
posed to aiding in the support of it. Oftentimes the church 
found its " stock " depleted, and at the same time, its officers 
had certain knowledge of the lack of adequate contribution by 
some of the members or inhabitants of the town.<^°) It was 
necessary for the support of the church that more rigorous 

(») Felt, Eccle. Hist. I. p. 174- 

(2) Gneist, History of the English Constitution, II. p. 205. Note 2a. 

(S) Watertown Recs,. I. p. 1. 

(*) Ibid, I. p. 9. 

(*) Salem Recs., p. 120. 

(•) Dexter, Congregationalism as seen in its Literature, p. 454. 

(7) Palfry, Hist, of N. E II. p. 38. ,„. , 

(8) A report to the legislature in 1657, gives only three towns (Hmgham, Weymouth 
and Braintree, as preserving the custom. Felt, Eccle. Hist. II. p. 160. 

(») Quoted by Felt, Eccle. Hist. I. p. 162. 
(10) [bid, II p. 174- 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 19 

measures be taken. The state was called upon to enforce the 
demands of the church. The compulsory contribution resulted. 

The first use of this term we have found is in an act of the 
General Court in 1638, which reads, — " This court taking 
into consideration the necessity of an equal contribution to all 
common charges in towns, and observing that the chief occasion 
of the defect herein ariseth from hence, that many of those who 
are not freemen, nor members of any church, do take advantage 
to withdraw their help in such voluntary contributions as are in 
use. 

" It is therefore hereby declared, that every inhabitant in any 
town is liable to contribute to all charges, both in church and 
commonwealth whereof he doth, or may receive benefit : and 
withal it is also ordered, that every such inhabitant who shall not 
contribute, proportionately to his ability with other freemen of 
the same town, to all common charges, as well for upholding the 
ordinance in the churches as otherwise shall be compelled thereto 
by assessment and distress to be levied by the constable, or other 
officers of the towns, or in other cases. "^^^ 

Many of the church-towns took advantage of the law at once, 
but in different ways. A typical case is that of Salem. The 
records of the town meeting in the following year state that 
" there was a voluntary town contribution toward the main- 
tenance of the ministry, quarterly to be paid. 

" The vote thereof remaineth with the Deacons." ^^^ 

Boston pursued a similar plan for some years in accordance 
with Cotton's advice in favor of " a voluntary contribution " to 
be collected quarterly.(^) Watertown is typical of another class. 
By 1642 it had resorted to taxation. <*> Salem in 1645 ordered 
that the non-members of the congregation shall be rated. <^) The 
difficulty met in securing the pastor's maintenance was doubt- 
less increased by the stringent economic conditions which pre- 
vailed during the first few years of the fifth decade. 

The law of 1638 applied also, doubtless, to the collection for 
the poor, and for the building of churches. The abandonment 



(') Mass. Col. Recs. I. pp. 240-1. 
{^) Salem Recs. p. 93. 
f») Felt, Eccle. Hist. I. p. 389. 
(*) Watertown Recs. I. p. 9. 

(') Note the language — congregation used as equivalent to town. The church mem- 
bers evidently were not "rated." Salem Recs. p. 140. 



20 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

of it for these purposes earlier than for the ministry and the 
adoption of the regular town rate was caused probably to some 
extent by the influence of the examples of the " church rate " 
and the " poor rate " in the English parish. There is an in- 
teresting parallel between the development of the " church rate " 
and the " poor rate " in the English parish and the town rate in 
Massachusetts for building and repairing the church and for the 
aid of the poor/^^ All went through the stages of free con- 
tribution, compulsory contribution, and civil tax. 

The possibility of connection between these movements in 
America and England is strengthened by the fact that the entire 
evolution of the poor rate in England was worked out during 
the reign of Elizabeth, which places the latter part of the move- 
ment within the lives of some of the colonists. 

We are now prepared to place ourselves in the same situation 
in which the Puritans found themselves in deciding the question 
of the support of the master. Those in the first emigration had 
an intimate acquaintance undoubtedly with the chartered schools 
and the methods of their support. On die other hand they had 
not come in direct contact with any distinctly Puritan school. 
The distinctly Puritan element was with him theoretical, while 
the English element was real and actual in his experience. 

The first schools were private schools, like those kept by a 
master in England, without a foundation of any sort. The 
master got his return in form of tuition. Upon these schools 
the people looked kindly, and oftentimes through the town cor- 
porations gave them substantial aid styled usually " an encourage- 
ment." The General Court at times took notice of the good 
work done by a Latin master and rewarded him. Newbury 
in 1639 gave Anthony Somerby a few acres of upland and salt 
marsh, Cambridge on several occasions gave Elijah Cortlett 
money, and the General Court presented him a piece of land.^^^ 
But these private schools had two notable deficiencies from the 
Puritan point of view. They were not permanent ; they did 
not ofifer opportunity for the education of those children whose 
parents were either unable to educate them and to pay the tuition 

(') Gneist, II. pp. 195-207. Nichols, Hist, of the Eng. Poor Law. II. pp. 149-193. 
Howard, p. 33. 

(2) Currier, Newbury, p. 395. Cambridge Recs., p. 97. Paige, Cambridge, p. 367. 
Mass. Col. Recs., IV. pp. 16, 284, 486. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 21 

fees. Schools, in their opinion, should be provided, which would 
satisfy this requirement in order to secure the perpetuity of the 
social and political order they had established. 

In answer to this demand the town schools were established. 
But in these days of early beginnings in the new home, when 
institutions were undergoing a process of transition, fine dis- 
tinctions were not made between the character of acts. The 
people wanted a school ; they took the most direct and convenient 
way to secure one. Sometimes this was done in a town meeting, 
sometimes not, as in Boston in 1636; one town (Roxbury) even 
went so far in its desire to secure pennanency as to draw up a 
charter and have it confirmed by the General Court. But they 
were all town schools, except Roxbury, because they were open 
to all the children of the town whether their parents contributed 
to the support of the master or not. 

Let us now examine their recorded acts in the endeavor to 
determine as fully and as accurately as we may what were the 
sources from which they drew the support of the master. 

The fact that the town corporation owned much undivided 
land caused the adoption of the method of support from land. 
In this way the congregation gave as a whole, rather than in- 
dividually, and no one had to give up anything which had pre- 
viously been a source of revenue to him. Many towns adopted 
this method. Boston in 1642 set apart Deare Island, (^> Dor- 
chester in 1639, Thomson's Island/-^ Dedham in 1645, 40 to 60 
acres of public land which had previously been set apart for 
public use.(^^ The two former towns got some income, though 
the inhabitants of Dorchester must have been considerably dis- 
appointed in the amount. (*^ Charleston in 1647 got some in- 
come from both the rent of an island and a weir.(^) The reasons 
for the failure of this source of support to bring anything more 
than a small percentage of the total outlay, was the plentifulness 
of land. Land was not mentioned in the law of 1647, though its 
use in a minor capacity was implied. 

Tuition was the sole source of support, doubtless, in the private 
schools that existed. There is only one of these, however, which 
received such recognition from the town and colony that it may 

(') Boston Recs. II. pp. 65, 8z. 

(') Dorchester Recs., pp. 39, 104. 

O Dedham Recs.. III. pp. 92, 105. 

(*) Deare Island was rented for £7 a year. 

(}) Frothingham, Charleston p. 115. 



22 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

be regarded in any sense as a town school. This was Elijah 
Corlett's school at Cambridge. His entire income before 1648, 
when a grant of land was made him, came from tuition fees.^^^ 

Endowment as a source of support was a thing feasible only 
in the future. Dorchester in her " rules and orders " made pro- 
vision for a " school stock whether the ^ame be in land or other- 
wise, both such as is already in being and such as may by any 
good means hereafter be added. "^^^ The demands of a new 
colonial enterprise and the hard times during the first few years 
of the fifth decade precluded the possibility of any of this kind 
of " stock " at this time. There is no mention of anything that 
would correspond to an annuity from the crown. This English 
method could not in the nature of things exist. 

It thus appears, so far as the records furnish evidence, that 
practically the only method copied in the town schools from 
English practice was support from land, and this at best fur- 
nished but a small part or none at all of the master's salary in 
these towns where it was instituted.^ ^^ The custom of setting 
apart land for the school persisted however for many years. 
Later, endowment created some revenue as well. These were 
never sufficient however to pay the master's salary. Income 
from a school stock forms a constant factor in school support 
during the entire period of this study. But as it had no effect 
upon the information of the moving school, it needs no further 
attention than is necessary to keep the fact of its existence 
before us. It is the" manner in which the balance, and the greater 
amount passed through its evolution that needs to be considered. 

The question is, how did the Puritans raise this balance, the 
greater part of the whole. Obviously, to answer it fairly we 
must pursue our inquiry on a parallel with the development of 
church support. That is, the time before 1639 or 1640 must be 
separated from the years which follow because of the transition 
from the contribution to the compulsory contribution in main- 
taining the ministry, and to a lesser extent in building the 
churches and aiding the poor. 

Before proceeding it will be of value to define the terms 
contribution and compulsory contribution as they will be used in 

(}) Cambridge Recs., p. 77. Paige. Cambridge, p. 367. 

(') Dorchester Recs,. p. 55. 

(5) Salem records make no reference to land for the use of the school. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 23 

connection with school support. By a contribution is meant a 
donation or subscription of money or goods made to the support 
of a public enterprise without the pressure of an ultimate legal 
compulsion in the event of failure to so do. By a compulsory 
contribution is meant a donation or subscription made under 
such pressure. This compulsory contribution was often spoken 
of by the Puritan as " voluntary." This was because it was 
fundamentally a subscription to which at first all who desired 
paid the amounts they wished. Afterward the rate was resorted 
to to bring up the deficiencies. The term " voluntary " was intro- 
duced and emphasized, in all probability, in order to put the best 
face upon it to those who were not readily inclined to give. 
There would be good warrant for calling this latter development, 
the " voluntary contribution," but it contains obvious disad- 
vantages. 

There is only one instance in the records of the use of the 
contribution before 1640 — that in Boston in 1636. This was 
a subscription made in a meeting of the ** richer inhabitants " 
" towards the maintenance of a free school master for the youth 
with us" — that is, for all the children of the town. The list 
of subscribers is headed by the Governor, the Deputy Governor, 
the ex-deputy Governor, the colonial treasurer, and the select- 
men. These colonial and town officers often co-operated at this 
early time. The movement is on the face seen to be one under- 
taken by the selectmen — the town's officials — for the good of its 
citizens, at a time when there was little system in affairs of 
government, and when institutions had not been differentiated. 
A school was wanted, it mattered little to them how the money 
was to be secured. None of the customs they had known in 
England could avail here, and some other had to be chosen. The 
range of the subscription indicates the presence of men of widely 
varying degrees of wealth. The Governor and Deputy Gover- 
nor each gave ten pounds, one man gave forty shillings ; another, 
thfrty ; six, twenty ; two, thirteen shillings four pence ; seven, 
ten shillings ; two, eight shillings ; five, six shillings eight pence ; 
one, six shillings ; five, five shillings ; seven, four shillings ; three, 
one shilling. There were forty-five subscriptions in all, which 
must be considered, as conditions were at that time, a large 
number. 



24 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

It was undoubtedly intended by them that the school should 
be open to all, though they were just as certainly conscious of 
the fact that the action was not taken in town meeting and that 
legally the town had not participated in the action. Yet the 
enterprise was sufficiently of a public nature for the record of 
it to be given a place in the back of the town record book. On 
this point two things are to be said : First, that the school 
support evidently did not seem to be a proper subject for town 
legislation. Second, that the newness of the enterprise, the en- 
thusiasm for its success, tended to produce spontaneous gather- 
ings such as this where the more well-to-do could give in large 
amounts and those less able, to the extent of their ability.*^) 

The records of the other towns during these first few years 
of the life of the colony say nothing whatever about support. 
Taken alone no decision can be reached. Can it be as- 
serted, that, because they say nothing, the method used in the 
only instance of which there is record, was used in all or in many 
others? Obviously not, yet there is some value in this con- 
sideration. 

Let us consider the possible methods that might have been 
used. These were income from land, endowment, tuition, town 
rate, and contribution. Had proceeds from land been used 
it would have first been necessary for the land to have been set 
apart for this purpose by the town meeting. Although town 
records are meagre on some points, this is the one on which 
they are the most full. They contain no such record. It is, 
therefore, a fair conclusion, that this was not a source of support 
for the master. Endowment at this early time could not in 
the nature of things have existed. It, also, can, therefore, be 
disregarded. 

Tuition was then used in Eaton's private school at Cambridge. 
It was doubtless the chief source of support for all private 
schools. Could it have been the manner of supporting town 
schools as well during these first few years of the settlement? 
This question must be answered in the affirmative ; it might 
have been. The plan of tuition could be carried on without 
any town record. But is it probable? There is in its favor the 



(1) Boston Recs. II. p. 8. At the town meeting when the building of the fortification 
on Fort Hill was provided for, just eight months previous, all were given a certain amount 
of work to do; but the richer were to pay money in addition, and the poor were to be paid 
for some of their labor. Twelve of these same men "lent" £s each. 



Control and Support of the Church-Toivn School. 25 

acquaintance of the Puritan with the system in the EngHsh 
schools and in the private schools in the colony. There is also 
the possibility that the town took over the private school into 
its own control using the same method of support, as was done 
frequently in the latter part of the century. Let us examine 
these considerations more closely. Why should the town estab- 
lish a school at this time? It was not required to do so by 
colonial law. It was primarily because the necessity of an 
education for all was one of the essentials, as they conceived it, 
of the perpetuity of their social-religious order. A school was 
needed to which all children might go, whether they were able 
to pay tuition or not. If the town required tuition of those 
who could pay, it was necessary to raise the tuition of the poor 
children in some other way. Tuition could not have been the 
sole source of support ; it might have been required of those 
whose parents were able to pay. 

But there are certain considerations that may be urged against 
it. Tuition rests upon the principle of the obligation of the 
parent to educate his own child. It is individualistic in 
essence. Society in Massachusetts at this time was, on the 
contrary, tending in the opposite direction — to communism. The 
altruistic spirit was being manifested in a manner which was 
unusual in the world's civilization as it existed at that time. 
People gave freely, in so far as they were able, to the general 
good. They did not insist on personal rights and personal ob- 
ligations. They were interested in the welfare of their neigh- 
bor's children as well as their own ; and even to the extent ot 
being willing to pay to the support of the school not according 
to their direct benefit, but according to their ability to give to a 
public measure. This was the case in other public enterprises 
and in one town school at least ; it might have been universally the 
case in the support of schools. Tuition does not seem fully 
compatible with this kind of societ}', because it is individualistic 
and selfish in its essence. Nevertheless, it might have been used 
in some towns. Its use must be considered as probable. 

The town rate payable in money was in use at this time for 
defraying certain common charges as those for the herding of 
cattle, (^) for the erecting of fences and building of bridges. (^' for 



(') Boston Recs. II. p. 2. Dorchester Recs. p. 11. 
(') Dorchester Recs. II. p. 4. 



26 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

fortifications/ ^'> for highways ^-^ and for erecting a meeting 
house/ ^^ But it was not used so often as it is natural in this day 
to assume. Their needs were neither frequent nor great. Such 
rates as there were, were for purely civil purposes. The amounts, 
moreover, were small, so that a rate for the master's salary would 
have seemed a tremendous burden. Thus there is nothing in the 
use then made of the town rate to lead us to expect that it was 
used for a purpose that was strongly religious in its source. 
And when is added the further consideration that " in history 
nothing proceeds from nothing," taking into account that a public 
tax had never been levied in England for support of schools, it 
seems beyond the bounds of possibility. Some other method 
must have intervened between the English methods and the town 
rate in a normal historical evolution of institutions. 

Of these four possibilities — the first two may be thrown out 
of all consideration.^*^ The third — tuition — may be admitted 
with a fair degree of probability. The same may be said of the 
fourth — the town rate — but with a considerable further limitation 
as to the degree of its probable use. But neither satisfy all the 
conditions in the situation. 

The fifth possible method of schood support, the contribution, 
satisfies the early social conditions which tuition and the town 
rate failed to meet. It well exemplifies the self-sacrificing com- 
munal spirit which pervaded society at that time. xA.ll of the 
people were held close together in a common brotherhood 
centering in the church which enforced the teachings of the 
Bible in the daily life. Men gave to the common cause with 
an unusual degree of freedom to all the projects that were 
deemed necessary to the welfare of the church and state. Like- 
wise the newness of the enterprise fostered general giving 
from all who were able. Also, the contribution is in agree- 
ment with the principle governing school support as expressed 
in the Welsh Education Act of 1649. This act being a 
fair expression of the Puritan attitude toward the school and 
its support, it is therefore most reasonable to expect that it was 
in general use in many towns. 



(1) Dorchester Recs. II. pp. 5, 7. 

(2) Watertown, Recs. p. 8. 

(3) Ibid, p. I. 

(*) They both came into use at a later period, the former — income from land — within 
a year or two after the compulsory contribution came into use. 



Control and Support of the Church-Tozvn School. 27 

Finally, the contribution has also this in its favor. For the 
first time the school was an institution in which the entire social 
group was interested, but it was not yet regarded as a project 
which the civil power should support. Throughout all history 
enterprises of general social interest which the state does not 
take up are supported by contribution of the inhabitants. Such 
was the case in the support of the early Christian church and of 
the church in England during the early centuries of its history, 
as well. The poor in the mother country had been supported in 
the same manner. When the state undertook the support of 
these institutions it gradually brought to bear the compelling 
power of a legal process. As will be seen in the latter part of 
this chapter and in chapter three, the support of the school in 
Massachusetts passed through the later stages of this process. 
It is, therefore, fair to presume that the contribution was in 
general use during these earlier years. 

Thus, even if there was but one recorded instance of the con- 
tribution reason would lead to the conclusion that it was the 
method most likely to have been followed in those cases where 
the records are silent, because it satisfies the political, social, and 
ecclesiastical conditions which were existent in the colony at 
that time, and because it corresponds to the stage of develop- 
ment in which the school was at that time. Nevertheless, tuition 
might have been adopted in some towns. 

Let us now examine the records of these first few years in 
these other towns to determine as definitely and accurately as 
we may whether tuition or the contribution was used. Final 
judgment must be deferred, however, until the records of the 
next sub-period, from 1639 to 1647, ^^e examined. In this 
period the workings of the compulsory contribution are more 
apparent, and thus it will be possible to form a more satisfactory 
judgment after the whole period is studied. 

The act of the town of Charleston in 1636: "Mr. William 
Witherell was agreed with to keep a school for a twelve months 
to begin the eighth of August and to have £ 4s this year." 
Here is a legislative act which is unusually complete and yet 
which does not specify the manner in which the amount was to 
be raised. Had they had a town rate in mind it would most cer- 
tainly have been inserted ; had they intended that tuition was to 



28 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

be charged, which as has been seen is not probable for social 
reasons, the rate would have very probably been specified, but 
if the contribution was to be depended upon there was no reason 
whatever for saying anything about the amounts which anyone 
should pay. That was a personal rather than a civil affair. 
Thus, this instance offers confirmatory evidence of the existence 
of the contribution in another town. 

The note on the records of Ipswich which states that in 1636, 
" a grammar school is set up, but does not succeed " makes 
either tuition or the contribution possible, or both. 

The record of 1636 in Boston is the strongest evidence that 
the contribution was used in 1635. The wording of the records 
of the earlier year contains, however, good internal evidence of 
this view. The fact that Mr. Philemon Pormont was " m- 
treated " to become schoolmaster indicates the respect shown the 
person of the master and suggests the close relationship between 
the Pastor and the Master expressed in the Welsh Education 
Act of 1649, wherein it is evident that the Puritan Parliament 
'■' regarded a schoolmastership as an appointment that ranked 
with a benefice." The support of the schoolmaster was pro- 
vided from the same fund.^^^ 

Felt in his Annals of Salem states that the first schoolmaster 
there " was the Rev. John Fisk who appears to have commenced 
his duties in 1637" and that "Besides teaching he as- 
sisted Mr. Peters in the pulpit, and so continued over two years." 
The most satisfactory explanation of his method of support is 
that of the contribution, for this statement likewise suggests the 
same relationship as that just referred to in Boston and the pos- 
sibility of the same source of support. The decision depends 
upon whether it was regarded as a town or private school. If 
it were the latter, tuition was probably used. 

Finally, it is to be said that there are no records which do not 
permit the possibility that the contribution was used, except in 
the distinctly private grammar school in Cambridge ; that all 
other records, except that of Ipswich in 1636. indicate on their 
face greater probability that the contribution was used ; that in 
the case of Ipswich judging by the wording of the records above, 
contribution and tuition are equally probable ; that in Charleston 
in 1636, in Boston in 1635 the contribution was almost certainly 

(') De Montmorency, State Intervention, p. loi. 



Control and Support of the Church-Tozvn School. 29 

used and in Salem also in 1637-9, i^ the school was a town school ; 
and that in Boston in 1636, it certainly prevailed. This evidence 
of the records combined with our knowledge of the ideals of 
society at that time and the later evolution of school support 
seems to indicate the general prevalence of the contribution, and 
that there was no doubt of its dominance over all the English 
methods of support of the time, including tuition. Our final con- 
clusion must be reserved, however, until after a study of the 
records during the period of the compulsory contribution to which 
we now proceed. 

The sub-period from 1638 to 1647 is marked at the beginning 
by the enactment of the compulsory contribution and at the close 
by the passage of the first law regarding schools. It furnishes 
more full and definite information and for that reason throws 
additional light upon the practices of the previous years. It is 
to be borne in mind that our inquiry seeks to ascertain how that 
part of the master's support, of whatever proportion, which was 
not afforded by income from land and endowment, was provided 
for. In the previous period there was no record making any 
mention whatsoever of these sources of support ; in this, Boston, 
Dorchester and Charleston obtain some revenue in these ways.^^^ 
The possible methods for raising this balance are the town rate, 
tuition, and either form of the contribution. That which has been 
said of them in connection with the previous years holds true in 
the main here. However, the altruistic spirit of the people was 
moderating, and the economic straits brought about by the ceas- 
ing of immigration in the early forties and associated causes 
made liberal giving to the public welfare more difficult. This 
would operate in favor of greater probability of the use of the 
rate and tuition. But the compulsory contribution contained 
in itself the coercive element in both tuition and the town 
rate, and so it would be reasonable to expect that their use 
would not be so general as might at first thought be supposed. 
Let us now proceed to the examination of the records, taking 
first those wherein definite methods are named. 

Boston by 1644 was working the compulsory contribution in 
full force. This is evidenced by an account given in Win- 



(*) See Appendix A. 



30 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

tlirop's History of New England under date of 1645, ^^^ which 
was written, probably, under the impulse of the foundation of 
the " Free School in Roxburie " in that year. He says, " Divers 

free schools were erected as at Roxbury and at Boston 

(where they made an order to allow fifty pounds to the master 
and an house, and thirty pounds to an usher, who shall also teach 
to read and write and cipher, and Indian children were to be 
taught freely, and the charge to be yearly by contribution, either 
by voluntary allowance, or by rate of such as refused etc., and 
this order was confirmed by the General Court). Other towns 
did the like providing maintenance by several means." ^^'^ A 
record of a selectmen's meeting in the previous year shows that 
the practice was in use then also, — " It is ordered that the con- 
stables shall pay into Deacon Eliot [a selectman] for the use of 
Mr. Woodbridge eight pounds due him for keeping the school 
the last year." ^^^ It is evident that the selectmen were estima- 
ting roughly the amount each man should contribute, using as a 
basis the levy made by them of country and town rates, ^^^ and 
that the constable was collecting from those who did not freely 
give an amount approximately proportionate to their share. It 
cannot be determined how long the compulsory contribution was 
in use before 1644. It is clear however that it is the lineal de- 
scendant of the contribution as made in 1636. And it may be 
assumed as a historical fact that they were the only methods 
used in Boston during all the history of the town school to 1645. 
The law of 1638 developed two tendencies in its application. 
The above account of the Boston practice illustrates perfectly 
one of them — the payment of every inhabitant to the support of 
school according to " his estates and with consideration of all 
other his abilities." (*) But whether it was the intention of the 
framers of the law or not, its wording permits another interpreta- 
tion, the realization of which represents the second tendency. 
The clause which declared " that every inhabitant in any town is 
liable to contribute to all charges, both in church and common- 
wealth, whereof he doth, or may receive benefit," may be in- 
terpreted as imposing the coercive power of the compulsory 
contribution only upon those who had children of school age. 



(1) Winthrop, Hist, of N. E. II. p. 264. 

(2) Boston Recs. II. p. 82. 

(3) Ibid, pp. 61-2. 

(*) Act of 1634. Mass. Col. Recs. I. p. 120. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 31 

The former was a step in the direction of the town rate, the 
latter a step toward a tax " on the heads of scholars," or tuition- 
tax. 

The act of Salem in 1644 illustrates this second tendency. 
But there was of necessity in this act another element as well. 
It was a Puritan principle that all children should have an elemen- 
tary education. This principle was crystallized into the law of 
1642, and, while it did not require the establishment of schools, 
yet it undoubtedly had that tendency, for it must have been the 
easiest solution of the problem for some towns. However that 
may be, if the Puritans had a town school, it must be open to all 
the children of the town. This being the case, the question arose 
what men should pay for the instruction of the poor children, 
if the voluntary subscription should be paid only by those who 
had children. Here the people of Salem fell back upon English 
practice as regards the support of the poor, and which they had 
begun to carry out in the aid of their own poor during the 
previous year — the levying of a town rate. The act as passed 
therefore provided,—" Ordered that a vote be published on the 
next lecture day that such as have children to be kept at school, 
would bring in their names and what they will give for one whole 
year, and, also, that if any poor body hath children or a child, to 
be put to school and not able to pay for their schooling, that the 
town will pay for it by a rate." Although this was not, it will be 
seen, strictly the tuition system, yet it was an approach toward 
it. It was, however, the town rate, and it is the first town rate 
that was ever levied, so far as the records tell us, for a town 
school. And it is significant to note, that it was for the benefit of 
the children of the poor. 

This record in itself would indicate an approach toward a 
system of tuition enforced by the town, rather than a departure 
from it. If this be true, then it is probable that tuition had not 
been used previously in the support of the town master. The 
pastor-master of 1637 was probably supported by the contri- 
bution. The record of the action of 1640 indicates its probable 
continuance. The economic conditions of the intervening years 
are sufficient to account for the change. 

This is the only record of the period illustrating the second 
tendency of the compulsory contribution. It is represented in 
the law of 1647, and in the last fifty years of the century its two 
3 



32 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

elements existed in combination in most of the towns of the 
Commonwealth. The other towns showing the first tendency will 
next be taken up. 

In 1645, the inhabitants of Dedham at a general town meeting 
" did with unanimous consent declare by vote their willingness 
to promote that work [education of youth] promising to put to 
their hands to provide maintenance for a free school in our said 

town And further did resolve and consent testifying 

it by vote to raise the sum of twenty pounds per annum towards 
the maintaining of a schoolmaster." In the event however that 
income from the school land makes the payment of this sum un- 
necessary, then " every man may be proportionably abated by 
his sum of the said £20 aforesaid freely to be given to ye as 
aforesaid. "(^^ 

The " voluntary " feature is apparent, they all " did with unani- 
mous consent declare their willingness" each to pay his 

share of twenty pounds ; the same " freely to be given." Such 
is the outline in brief. It was a legal town meeting. Their act 
established a town school, determined the amount that should 
be annually spent, and fixed the manner in which the amount 
should be raised. It imposed also a compulsory contribution upon 
all the inhabitants. It is interesting to note that emphasis was 
placed upon the fact that all men bound themselves by the action, 
as if this was necessary to effect payment of the sums " freely 
to be given." The controlling thought seems to have been, in 
respect to this feature of support, that a solemn agreement was 
formed between them each to do his part, and that the business 
should be so carried out as to make every one feel the seriousness 
of his obligation. The thought of the power of the town to levy 
a tax which would effect this same arrangement seems not to 
have existed, even though the action was taken in town meeting. 
On the other hand, the fact that a majority of the meeting were 
in favor of having a town school doubtless did have considerable 
effect in producing the unanimity recorded. For it was evi- 
dent to all that if a majority passed the legislation to have a 
school, they would be obliged by the law of 1638 to pay their 
approximate shares whether they agreed or not, and it was better 
for them to express their willingness irrespective of their true 
state of mind. The transitional character of the act is evident. 



(}) Dedham Recs. III. p. 105. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 33 

In the setting that has thus far been created in this chapter, 
the action of the inhabitants of Roxbury in 1645 does not seem 
to be out of place. While on the one hand it seems a repro- 
duction of the English chartered school with such adaptation as 
the new environment rendered necessary, yet looked at from the 
point of view from which the people regarded their own act it 
seems to contain a distinctly Puritan element in so far as the 
support of the master was concerned. Its consideration will be 
of value in this study. A close scrutiny of the provisions of its 
" charter '" will aid not only in determining the relative place 
of the different methods of support, but also in giving us a 
fuller appreciation of what the compulsory contribution was. 

The covenant entered into by all, or practically all, of the in- 
habitants of Roxbury in 1645 created simply a perpetual compul- 
sory contribution. After the preamble the agreement continues, 
— " They therefore unanimously have consented and agreed to 

erect a free school and to allow twenty pounds per annum 

to the schoolmaster, to be raised out of the Messauges and part 

of the lands of the several donors in several proportions 

as hereafter f olloweth under their hands In 

consideration of the premises, the Donors hereafter expressed 
for the several proportions or annuities by them voluntarily 
undertaken and underwritten, have given and granted and by 
these presents do for themselves their heirs and assigns respec- 
tively hereby give and grant unto the present feoffees the several 
rents and sums hereafter expressed under their hands.''^^^ 

This action is like that of Dedham in the same year except 
in the point of permanency. The strong emphasis placed on this 
element caused the Roxbury people to copy after the English 
chartered school more closely. The adoption of this form of 
institution removed the source of support from the domain of 
the civil law, and gave the obligation to support the school an 
altered sanction. But from the standpoint of its practical effect 
upon the individuals owning the property at that time or later 
there was no difference in the two cases. In Dedham each man's 
" sum " was " freely to be given ; " in Roxbury the " several 
proportions or annuities " were " voluntarily undertaken." In 
the former case the civil law obliged each man to pay ; in the 

(') Dillaway, Grammar School, pp. 7-13. Brown, Middle Schools, p. 40. 



34 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

latter the agreement. Both were compulsory " voluntary " con- 
tributions, one for an indefinite period of time and subject to 
variation in amount as the individuals' property changed in value ; 
the other, likewise contained no time limit, but remained fixed in 
amount and existed as a lien against the piece or pieces of 
property specified. 

These comprise all the records in which the compulsory con- 
tribution appears directly. There still remains to be noticed 
those records of the period which make no explicit reference to 
it. Such a record is furnished by the town of Dorchester in 
1645. The extended rules and orders, which have been several 
times referred to, provided for a " school stock whether the same 
be in land or otherwise, both such as is in being and such as 
may by any good means hereafter be added " and for the pay- 
ment of the master's salary and " if these be sufificient " the 
repair of the school house " out of the rents issues and profits " 
thereof. If there were not sufficient funds for repairing the school 
house the selectmen were '" to tax the town " for that purpose. 
The entire absence of any mention of taxing the town for the 
support of the master in this body of regulations which has all 
the marks of most careful care to secure completeness, taken 
together with the fact that it could have been easily included in 
connection with taxing the town for the repair of the school 
house, is satisfactory evidence that they expected the salary of 
the master in the event of a shortage in the school stock to be 
provided for in some other way. That the " school stock " was 
insufficient to pay the master there is little or no doubt. The 
rent from Thomson's Island was not sufficient in the early years, 
and probably remained so.^^^ 

This balance must have been made up either by tuition charges 
or by contribution. If tuition had been contemplated it seems 
that a provision securing it would have been incorporated in 
this very complete measure, giving the feoflfees power to specify 
the amounts and to collect the same. The fact that their powers 
were expressly limited to " the charge, oversight and ordering 
thereof [the scHool] in such manner as is hereafter expressed " 
seems conclusive that they could not and did not have anything 
to do with tuition, and that therefore it was not a means of 
support. On the other hand their power " to dispose of the 



(1) Act of 1641. See Appendix A. 



Control and Snpport of the Church-Toivn School. 35 

school stock both such as is already in being and such 

as may by any good means hereafter be added " covers the con- 
tribution. It seems therefore practically certain that it was the 
sole method of support for the balance needed above the income 
from the permanent part of the " stock."(^> 

The records of two other towns remain to be considered. The 
action of Ipswich in 1642, " that there shall be a free school " 
permits the interpretation of all forms of support. But as no 
mention is made of school land, and as the times would hardly 
permit of an endowment, these may be dismissed at once. Like- 
wise, the town rate, for, as has been shown, to ascribe it at this 
time would be an anachronism. Tuition and the contribution 
remain. It is possible that the latter was used, or that tuition 
was paid by those who were able and the rest was made up by 
a subscription or by the town rate as a feature of the support 
of the town. The conditions in Salem, however, would weigh 
against the fixing of a definite tuition rate. It is impossible to 
determine the exact method of support. 

The school referred to in the records of Newbury was a 
private school encouraged by public support.(-> There is nothing 
to indicate that it was regarded as a town school. The master 
probably got his return from tuition. There were probably other 
towns who maintained similar relations toward a private school. 
Elijah Corlett who kept a grammar school in Cambridge for 
many years received encouragement in the same way. Water- 
town, is an example of a town, which, judging from the outward 
conditions, must have had a private school, of which no record 
remains. The people probably promoted its welfare in many 
ways. 

In addition to the above instances the record of the town of 
Charleston dated in January 1647, should receive notice. It in- 
dicates that a town rate was levied. As the town historian 
places no confidence in the exact presentation of the records 
of this time, some doubt is thrown upon whether it was really 
a town tax that was ordered. The phrase " gathered of the 

(') It has been claimed that the action of i6.^o was equivalent to layinR a tax upon 
the inhabitants. (Mowry, Address on Schools of Dorchester.) That it was the equivalent 
ot a permanent contribution in the form of a rent bv all who chose to take up the por- 
tion of land assKTned them is seen to be the truth of the matter when viewed in the light 
of this study. However, the action of two years later made the source of support one of 
rent of the ordinary kind. The obligation to take their assignment of land and pay the 
rent was one which coidd be assumed or not as each choose. Evidently only about seventy 
of the one hundred and twenty freeholders did so. Rep. Com. of Ed. i8g6-7 Note on 
1170-71. ' ' ' ^^ 

(2)Ciirrier, Newbury, p. 395. 



^6 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

town " may be taken as meaning, the voluntary contribution. 
.This point cannot be fully settled. x\nother question is also 
involved, whether the date as given is correct. As the date lies 
within the first two months of the year, it was, owing to the 
method of recording dates, especially liable to error in the compi- 
lation that was made. If the date were January 1648, the town 
rate might be more properly conceived as having been levied and 
collected, for that would place it in the next period. This point, 
also, must remain unsettled. It must be said however that it 
is possible that the town rate was levied in support of schools 
in Charleston in January 1647. I^ this were the case, then the 
evolution of the contribution with the town rate was worked out 
in Charleston without the participation of the General Court in 
the process, and the period of the civil school began in this town 
at this time. Under this condition, this act would more properly 
be included in the period which followed as it would be if the 
action were taken in 1648. 

The study of the records of this second sub-period must be 
taken as proving conclusively the general prevalence and the 
large predominance of the compulsory contribution as a method 
of supporting the town schools. Tuition, on the other hand was 
the main source of support of the private schools. Land and 
endowment were not fruitful sources of revenue. The town 
rate was used but once, so far as is known with certainty, and 
then as an element in support of the poor altogether as much, 
if not more than, as an element in the support of the school. 

The well-established dominance of the compulsory contribution 
likewise confirms the prevalence of the contribution before 1639. 
The most satisfactory solution of the question of support of town 
schools is thus afforded by it. though tuition may have been used. 
It is, also, plain that its agreement with the social and religious 
ideas and practices of the time compels the placing of the burden 
of proof upon tuition and the town rate in order to establis|h 
their existence. The years before 1647 constitute the period of 
the contribution in its two forms, the contribution and compulsory 
contribution. 

Summarizing, it may be said that the Puritan society of this 
period was dominantly religious in character ; all of its activities 
were closely related to the church, which was the chief institution. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 37 

Their principles concerning education were fundamentally re- 
ligious. The institution — the school — as they had known it in 
England was closely associated with the Church ; their manner 
of life emphasized this relationship. But owing to the primitive 
condition of their life the English methods of support could not 
be used. It became necessary to adopt new methods in order 
to secure the education of all the children. The methods chosen 
were the same as those by which the church was supported, and 
as the methods for the support of the church changed, even so, 
did the methods for the support of the school. However, methods 
for the support of the school, since it did not rank so high as the 
church, were left more to local initiative and regulation. *^^> 

Taking this period as a whole the people had not as yet fully 
arrived at the conception of the school as a proper subject for 
the support of the state though they sought the aid of the state 
to collect the money. However, as will be seen in the next 
chapter, they used the civil organization to control the school. 



(') The methods for the support of the poor passed through the same evolution and for the 
Same reasons, except that in this line of development there was the influence of a previous 
evolution, similar in character, which had taken place in England within the preceding 
century. Thus for this reason, doubtless, the evolution in the case of the support of the 
poor, preceded that of the support of the school and of the church, and served as an in- 
fluence in promoting their evolution. 



CHAPTER II 

CONTROL AND SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH-TOWN 

SCHOOL (1) 

PART II— AGENCIES OF CONTROL 
1635-1647 

The town meeting as the supreme authority in the control of 
local affairs could legally create whatever agencies it desired 
for the execution of its will, and determine their duties and 
powers both as to extent and duration, subject only to the general 
supervision of the General Court. In Dorchester in 1645, three 
feofees appointed by the town for life, but subject to removal, 
were given the full powers possessed by the town over its school, 
except in one point — the master selected must be approved by 
the town. An example of an administrative agency of the op- 
posite extreme in character is found in the same town in 1641, 
when a committee of two was appointed to perform a single act 
— the renting of land for the benefit of the school. 

The selectmen were the chief administrative agency of the 
town supplementing the action of the town meeting to what- 
ever extent was necessary or desirable to attain the ends in 
view. They were elected from time to time, usually annually. 
Theoretically they were subordinate to the town meeting. They 
dealt with all features of town government. They constituted an 
agency, always at hand, which could be used in the accomplish- 
ment of any purpose. 

In our endeavor to answer the question, which governmental 
agencies performed the various functions necessary to the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of a town school, the administrative 
functions present no difficulty. They were performed by one or 
another of these administrative agencies — the permanent school 
committee, the temporary committee, or the selectmen. It is 
in the consideration of the legislative functions that perplexities 
arise. There are none, however, when there is a permanent board 
of feoffees constituted by an instrument, resembling a charter 

(}) Reference to town records before 1647, all of which are contained in the appendix, 
are not given in the text. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 39 

and of considerable length and detail, for then all is specifically 
provided for. The same is true in that case in which there was 
the temporary school committee.<^> But when the selectmen as 
the "town's representative" and ministerial agent are involved 
in the control of the school the duties and powers assigned to 
them are not specified and we are compelled to go beyond the 
town records to determine whether their actions were confined 
wholly to the administrative functions. We must know the 
methods of control of schools as they had existed previously 
and the nature of the scheme of local government as it was at 
that time. The same principles of interpretation laid down in 
the first chapter must be observed here. 

The English schools among which the settlers had lived in 
the mother-country were either chartered or private schools. 
Full control was placed in a board of feofifees appointed in the 
charter. Vacancies were filled, likewise, according to its pro- 
visions. The so-called town-schools, which present the closest 
analogy to the town schools in Massachusetts, were chartered, 
as well, by the crown. The oflficers of the town government, con- 
stituted as feofifees, had their powers and duties determined for 
them by this legal instrument. Their functions as administrators 
of the school were outside of their regular official duties. The 
school was not regarded as a civil institution. It was rather a 
special institution, whose administration was placed in the town 
officers in-being, in order to secure obvious advantages for the 
school. The control in all classes of chartered schools was 
decidedly aristocratic in character ; there was nothing to suggest 
democratic control." (-> 

Puritan theory placed the control of the school in the church 
organization. This was exemplified in the plan of Knox and 
his successors in Scotland. (•*) and in the Dutch Church in 
Holland.(*> It was also the plan adopted by the Puritan parlia- 
ment for Wales in i649.("^) The Established Church of England 
during the reign of the kings exercised the right of approval 

0) There was only one temporary school committee, dealing directly with the school it- 
selt in all towns previous to 1647. This was in Dorchester in 1630. "when it was left to 
the discretion of the seven men for the time beinp whether maids shall be taught with the 
boys or not. The only other temporary committee used for any purpose in connection 
with school administration was m the same town two years later when the elders were 
instructed to rent out Thomson's Island. 

(2) Stow. 

(■3) Grant, The Elizabethan Grammar-Schools, , p. 77. In preparation. 

(*) Monroe, p. 436. 

(5) De Montmorency, State Intervention, pp. 101-3. 



40 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

or disapproval of the masters of all the schools of whatever 
kind.^^-* The character of the control that the Puritans in Mas- 
sachusetts fixed upon for the school must have been influenced 
in large measure by the ideas prevalent throughout the church 
at that time. This requires a study of the form of church 
government. 

The Calvinistic government was a peculiar combination of 
aristocracy and democracy. Fundamentally democratic in theory, 
the limitations placed upon the range of action of the congrega- 
tion were so close that the Elders had theoretically, and often 
in practice, almost complete control. The relation of these two 
bodies in the church is set ofif clearly and authoritatively in a 
volume of the Rev. Richard Mather of Dorchester. ^-^ 

" We do believe that Christ hath ordained that there should 

be a Presbytery or Eldership whose work is to teach and 

rule the Church by the word and laws of Christ, and under whom 
so teaching and ruling all the people ought to be obedient and 
submit themselves." To the congregation as a whole " Christ 
hath given to them [liberty] in choosing their own officers, in 
admitting of members, and censuring of offenders even Ministers 
themselves when they be such. We give the exercise of all 
church power of government neither all to the people excluding 
the Presbytery nor all to the Presbytery excluding the people. 
For this were to make the government of the church either merely 
democratical, or merely aristocratical, neither of which we believe 
it ought to be." The elders could do nothing without the con- 
sent of the people, *' because when they do their duty, the people 
ought to consent to it and * if any man should in such case 
wilfully dissent, the Church ought to deal with such an one, for 
not consenting ' or else ' they shall all be guilty of the sinful 

dissent of such an one ' " Church matters ought not to be 

determined " merely by multitude or plurality of votes, but by 
rules from the Word of Christ whose will (and not the major 
or minor part of men) is the only rule and law for Churches." 
The rules of Christ were to be determined by the Elders. Thus 
the rule of the Elders was theoretically absolute. They pos- 
sessed the power of nullifying the votes of all dissenters. In 
practice this was modified to some extent by the influence of the 



(1) De Montmorency, p. 06. 

(2) Quoted by Dexter, Congregationalism, p. 427. 



Control and Support of the Cliurch-Town School. 41 

ministry on the one hand and of the congregation on the other. 
However, the ministry and Elders were usually in close agree- 
ment, and more often than not at this early time, the people 
were swayed by the Elders in the exercise of the powers that 
were specifically confirmed to them. The government was in 
reality " a speaking aristocracy in the form of a silent 
democracy."^^^ 

Thus both English practice and Puritan theory predisposed 
the Puritan to aristocratic control of the school. But there was 
another element in the situation — the local civil organization. 
It has been said that they were a practical people, that they cared 
not so much for the character of the means as for the accomplish- 
ment of the ends in view. The custom of the past or present 
would be quickly modified if a better result would follow. So 
when the Puritan faced the question of the selection of the best 
method of controlling the school he was ready to modify the 
old ideas and practices of the chartered school and of the church 
school, if the end could be attained more directly and economi- 
cally by town control. 

The extent to which the old models were copied in school 
support was very large ; in methods of control it was far less. 
The Roxbury Grammar School was modelled most closely after 
the English chartered schools. The ** Rules and Orders " for the 
school in Dorchester, passed in 1645, shows this influence to a 
large degree also. Records of other towns manifest the effects 
of the English practice to a lesser degree. There were no schools 
modeled after the strictly church school, except possibly the 
school kept by Rev. John Fish in Salem in 1637-9, when he 
assisted Mr. Peters in the pulpit.^-) There was no need for 
them. The civil government had the machinery already at hand. 
Church and State were in very close union or alliance. Why 
create additional administrative organs in the church, when the 
town agencies would suffice? And so the civil organization was 
chosen in many of the towns to control the school for the reason 
that it offered the most direct method. And thus unconsciously 
the control of the school was transferred from the church to the 
state. 



(1) Dexter, ConRreprationalism, p. 420- 

(') Felt Salem I. p. 427. Newbury in the latter part of the century had a similar 
arrangement for pastoral services. In this case, of course, the teacher was hired by the town. 
Currier's Newberry, p. 401. 



42 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The town government was in a formative stage/ ^^ The 
people did not have a body of practice to guide them in civil 
affairs, and they had to work out a form of government without 
further precedent than the EngHsh parish. The form of govern- 
ment used in the churches was the most fruitful source of in- 
fluence. However, because of the numerous secular and prop- 
erty interests involved in town business, the democratic features 
of the church government were most strongly emphasized. 
Town citizenship was much broader than colonial citizenship: 
and the head local officers were not kept in their position for so 
long a period of time. Nevertheless at this early time, when the 
church was the primary institution in the town settlements and 
civil agencies of government were in a formative stage, the 
aristocratic features of the church government must have exer- 
cised a strong influence upon the civil practice. 

After this review^ of the external conditions which were in- 
fluencing the inhabitants of the towns in the control of their 
schools we are prepared to go on more intelligently with an inter- 
pretation of the town records. Our question has now been 
reduced to this form: — In those towns where the school was 
controlled wholly by the town meeting and the selectmen to 
what extent did each agency enter into the performance of the 
legislative functions? Let us first take those instances in the 
records wherein it is clear that the town meeting performed all or 
nearly all the necessary legislative functions. They are as 
follows : 

Charleston 1636. — "Mr. William Mitchell was agreed with 
to keep a school for a twelve month to begin the eighth of August 
and to have £45 this year." 

Dorchester — " It is ordered that there shall be a rent of £20 
yearly forever imposed on Thomson's Island — toward the main- 
tenance of a school the said schoolmaster to be chosen from 

time to time by the freemen." 

Salem 1643 — " Ordered that a vote be published on the next 
lecture day that such as have children to be kept at school, 
would bring in their names and what they will give for one 
whole year, and also that if any poor body hath children or a 

(1) Hosmer, Samuel Adams, the Man of the Town Meeting; also his Samuel Adams, p. 3. 



Control and Support of the Cliurch-Tozvn School. 43 

child to be put to school and not able to pay for their schooling, 
that the town will pay for it by a rate."(^) 

Dedham 1645: "The said inhabitants for the education 

of youth in our said town did with an unanimous consent declare 

by vote their willingness to promote that work And further 

did resolve by vote to raise the sum of twenty pounds 

per annum towards the maintaining of a schoolmaster and 

also to betrust the said twenty pounds per annum and cer- 
tain lands in our town into the hands of feoffees 

that as the profits shall arise from ye said land every man may 
be proportionately abated of his sum of the said twenty pounds 
aforesaid freely to be given to ye use aforesaid." 

The various necessary legislative functions were (i) decision 
to have a school; (2) election of master; (3) determination of 
how master should be paid ; (4) determination of amount to be 
paid him or the length of the term of school. (-> In Charleston the 
town meeting failed to cover the third point; in Salem and 
Dedham the second point. 

The records which reveal quite incomplete legislation upon 
the part of the town are : 

Boston 1635 • " Likewise it was then generally agreed upon 
that our brother Philemon Pormont shall be intreated to become 
schoolmaster for the teaching and nurturing of children with us." 

Salem 1640 — *' Young Mr. Norris chose by this assembly to 
teach school." 

Ipswich 1642 — " The town votes that there shall be a free 
school." 

It may be assumed that in each case the first function was per- 
formed. (■^> The second function was not performed in Ipswich; 
the third and fourth are lacking in all of them. 

Now let us look at these records with the point of view of 
determining whether any legislative action was necessary in those 
years where none was recorded. In Boston there is no record 
of legislative action concerning the school proper from 1635 
until after the close of the period. Yet the action of the inhabi- 

(1) The Charleston record of 1647 is not included because logically, and probably also 
in fact, it belongs to the next period. 

(*) vSee page 13. 

^^ V^D°"*''\ '" ^^^ ^^^^ °^ Salem, where we know there was a school previously taught 
by the Rev John Fish while serving as an assistant in the pulpit, it is not certain The 
decision to have a school may have previously been declared by the town meeting or the 
selectmen, and the action be merely the fulfilling of the second function. 



44 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

tants in 1636, the setting apart of Deare Island for the benefit 
of the school or other public purpose in 1642. and the act of 
the selectmen ordering the master paid a small amount in 1644, 
as well as the deep intellectual and religious interests centering 
in Boston indicate beyond a doubt the continuous existence of 
the school. The schools of Salem and Ipswich are also said 
to have been continuous from the date of the first town records/^) 
There is no reason to believe that the same was not true of the 
schools of Dorchester and Charleston as well.^-' If so, was 
it then necessary that any of these legislative functions be 
performed ? 

In the act of Dorchester in 1639 the continuous existence 
of the school was implied ; in Charleston on the other hand its 
duration was definitely limited to one year. What interpretation 
is to be placed upon the records of those towns in which the 
decision to have a school is not given any time limit? As the 
chief factor of the school was the master and as his office was 
regarded as being similar to that of a pastor, who was elected 
for an indefinite time, it might be presumed that the decision 
to have a school continued during the life of the master or the 
period that the town and the master were willing to have the 
relationship continue. ^''^ Judging on this basis it became neces- 
sary for Boston to perform this first function several times for 
we know that besides Mr. Pormont, Mr. Daniel Maud, Mr. 
Woodbridge, and possibly ]\Ir. Woodmansey served as school- 
mster before i648.('*^ Proceeding on the same basis, we would 
be led to say that Salem was not compelled to pass upon this 
question, for Mr. Norris seems to have been the master in 1668 
and 1673 and probably during all the intervening time. But 
there is strong reason for believing that the action of 1640 was 
not so meant. For in the following year the Quarterly Court 
ordered a town meeting in Salem to consider the question of a 
free school.^ ^^ If our conclusion in the first chapter that the 
school of 1640 was such, be true, the interpretation to be put 
upon the act of the Court is that the people of Salem were 
hesitating whether to continue it. The record of Ipswich may 



(*) Felt, Salem, p. 429. Felt, Ipswich. Essex and Hamilton, p. 87. 

(2) Barnard's American Journal of Education, XVI. n. 105, XXVII. p. 127. 

(3) See Dorchester Recs, 1642 — Memorandum — Appendix. 
(*) Boston Recs. II. pp. 82, 99. 

(5) Felt, Salem, p. 427. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 45 

be interpreted in either way. Thus it seems that in some 
towns this first necessary legislative function was performed and 
not recorded. 

Performance of the second legislative function — the election of 
a master — must have occurred in all the above cases, and also in 
Dorchester whenever the first and the succeeding master's 
services came to an end. The " acts and orders " of 1645 in 
their provision for the election of master imply some change in 
the office. 

In the discussion of the third and fourth points of necessary 
legislation those records where legislation is only partial may 
be included. Our question is, whether the manner of raising 
the master's salary was a necessary legislative function in those 
years when no mention of it is made in the records. It was 
noted in the previous chapter that no mention whatever was 
made of the manner of raising the master's salary until 1639, 
and that when the question was passed upon in town meetings 
after that date the methods provided were chiefly income from 
land and voluntary contribution, though provision was made (in 
Dorchester), whereby gifts would be received and (in Salem) 
a tax was levied for the education of poor children. 

The fact that there was no legislation upon this point before 
1639 is explained by the nature of school support up to that 
time. The contribution was accepted as the proper means and 
there was no need for legislation. However, when the compul- 
sory contribution had to be resorted to in order to have a school, 
legislation to secure its enforcement in each town became 
necessary. This time came in Boston as early as 1644. i" Salem 
as early as 1643. in Dedham as early as 1645 anfl possibly 
earlier in the first two towns. Although it is possible that in 
some towns, as in Ipswich and Charleston and Dorchester, they 
continued to use the contribution, yet it is more likely that the 
compulsory contribution was adopted in the first two for part 
of this time. In Boston there is no record of this action ever 
being taken, in Salem and Dedham for only one year. In the 
last town the action may be taken as extending over a period 
of years, but not in Salem. Thus it is certain that in some of 
the towns, and probably in most of them, legislation was passed 
upon this point of which no record of the usual form was 
made. 



4-6 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

As to the fourth point — the fixing of the master's salary — 
there are only two records which fix it definitely over a period 
of years — in Dorchester in 1639, and in Dedham in 1645. In 
the former instance we know that the source of income was a 
disappointment, and it seems very probable that it was necessary 
to change the amount. The frequency with which legislation 
was necessary was dependent principally upon the economic 
status, the constancy of the income from land and other sources, 
and the length of time a master when once elected would serve. 
If a change should occur in either of these points, a modifi- 
cation in the amount of the master's salary would undoubtedly 
become a subject of legislation. Changes in all these respects 
we know to have occurred during this period, and so we can 
conclude with reasonable certainty that this subject was fre- 
quently a subject of legislation in all the towns. 

Summarizing our inquiry into the question of unrecorded 
legislation we conclude that there must have been a considerable 
amount in each of the towns. It does not seem too much to 
say that in the majority of towns it was greater in amount than 
that which was recorded. This has been seen to be true of Boston, 
Ipswich after 1642, and Charleston. In Salem there is recorded 
legislation in only two years out of eight, in Dorchester in two 
out of six, which facts indicate the truth of the assertion in 
them as well. In Dedham, on the other hand, this condition 
hardly prevailed. Furthermore, the legislation that remained un- 
recorded seems to have been fully equivalent in rank to that 
which appears in the town records. Upon every point there 
seems to have been need for legislation during the interims. 

Now if this be true, the conclusion seems to follow inevitably 
that the selectmen passed the far greater portion of this legis- 
lation. This view recognizes the possibility of action by town 
meeting failing of record, some instances of which must have 
existed, e. g., the town meeting ordered at Salem by the Court 
of Quarter Sessions in 1641. But to insist that this would be true 
of a large number of instances is hardly in accord with the in- 
herent probabilities of the records themselves or with the condi- 
tions prevalent in the political and social life. This view is sup- 
ported by the following considerations: — 



Control and Support of the Church-Tozvn School. 47 

(i) The selectmen possessed equivalent powers with the town 
meeting in respect to schools. The board of selectmen began 
to assume pretty definite form by 1640. In the " Body of 
Liberties," passed in 1641 by the General Court, the institution 
was given its permanent form. This provided that, " The free- 
men of every town or township shall have full power to choose 
yearly or for less time out of themselves a convenient number 
of fit men to order the planting or prudential occasions of the 
town according to instructions given them in writing. Provided 
nothing be done contrary to the public laws and orders of the 
country, provided also the number of such select persons be not 
over nine."^^) 

The towns as a rule at this time passed upon the instructions 
in the general town meeting held for the election of officers. 
Watertown in 1634 " agreed by the consent of the freemen that 
these eleven freemen shall order all the civil affairs for the town 
for the year following, and to divide the lands."^-) In 1641, 
the wording was " to order the town affairs ;" in 1647 " to order 
the prudential affairs of the town."^^) The authority of the 
Boston town meeting in 1634 was conveyed by the phrase " to 
manage the affairs of the town."(-») In 1636, ten men were 
" with general consent, chosen for these next six months to 
oversee and set order for all allottments belonging to the town, 
and for all other occasions and businesses of the same (excepting 
matters of election for the General Court) from time to time 
to be agreed upon and ordered bv them or the greater part of 
them."(=) 

In 1639 the ten men were " chosen as formerly for the town's 
occasions." Dedham in 1639 " concluded that whatever power 
all ye company of townsmen themselves so met together before 
any such choice was now made, the very same power is now 
put into the same men's hands now chosen to remain in full 
power for one whole year from the present day." ("> Dorchester 
in 1633 <'licl "(^t enter fully into representative government and 
limited the acts of its '' ten men " by a sort of referendum, 
although they were privileged to act upon all subjects.(') By 

(^) Whitmore, Colonial Laws, p. 49. 

(^) Watertown Recs. I. p. 2. 

(^) Ibid I. pp. 7, 10. 

(*) Boston Recs. II. p. 2. 

C5) Ibid II. p. II. 

(«) Dedham Recs. III. 62. 

(') Dorchester Recs. 3. 



48 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

1639, this form of control had ceased to exist and the " seven 
men " were empowered " to order all the affairs of the plantation, 
and to have full power to act and determine anything for the 
good of the plantation according to their discretion, except in 
granting land." ^^^ In Salem no specific instructions were given, 
but they were called the " town's representatives " in 1636, which 
implies these same full powers as in other towns. In 1638 they 
were called the " seven men appointed for the town's affairs." ^^^ 
While none of the instructions of the towns contain specific 
reference to the subject of schools, yet there is no doubt that 
these were included in them. A law passed in 1647, dealing 
with the powers of those, who, although not being church mem- 
bers, were admitted to the privileges of citizenship in the town, 
makes this plain. In this law some of the chief " prudentials 
proper to ye selectmen " are named. The " ordering of 
schools " is given the first place followed by the " herdintr of 
cattle, laying out of highways and distributing of lands." '-^^ 
There is no doubt that legally they had full power to perform 
these legislative functions. 

(2) That they exercised powers equivalent to those of the town 
meeting in other affairs is evident to the student of the records. 
Howard in his Local Constitutional History of the United States 
speaks as follows upon this point : " As the town representative 
a vast number of functions devolved upon the selectmen. Nearly 
every kind of business that could be transacted by the town 
meeting itself, save only the election of the more important 
officers, was constantly performed by them. Their proceedings 
were recorded by the town clerk, usually in the same book and 
interspersed with those of the town meeting. Indeed the minutes 
of the former are scarcely to be distinguished in character and 
form from those of the latter body." ^*^ 

(3) The charter of school administration previous to that time 
was aristocratic. The point needs no further elaboration here. 
The natural tendency would have been to place the control of 
the school in the hands of a few men. It was done in Dorchester 
and in Dedham in 1645. and in Roxbury also, though this was not 
properly a town school. The natural tendency expressed here 
must have operated also in the other towns. 

(') Dorchester Recs. p. 38. 

(2) Salem Recs. pp. !■;, 77. 

(3) Mass. Col. Rcrs. II. p. 197. 
C) Howard, p. 78. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 49 

(4) The fact that the school was in a period of transition from 
an institution of the church to an institution of the state em- 
phasized aristocratic control. To the Puritan the school belonged 
primarily to the church, and thus subject to aristocratic control. 
The peculiar situation which brought about its control by the 
civil organization was a mixed situation. Naturally the old forms 
would not be thrown off at once, and the tendency would be 
to give pretty full powers to those occupying the highest civil 
office. Traces of the influences of the old order are seen in 
the fact that the elders of the church were appointed to perform 
administrative functions in connection with the school in Dor- 
chester in 1639 and 1641. This influence is apparent later in 
the employment of Ezekiel Cheever in Boston in 1670; and in 
the school committee of that town in the eighteenth century. 

(5) Absence of records favors action by selectmen. Many of 
their acts being purely executive in character required no record. 
This would develop a tendency to laxity in recording which 
would naturally extend over into acts legislative in character. 
The conditions under which the legislative action was taken were 
much more informal than those surrounding the town meeting. 
This, again, would promote the same tendency. 

(6) The contrast in the frequency of town action before and 
after 1647. The effect of the law of 1647 was to make the people 
conscious of the fact that the school was a civil institution. In 
consequence the people were more inclined to assume direct 
control. Thus after that date record of town action is frequent, 
while the conditions regarding the school itself were approxi- 
mately the same. This is illustrated in Dorchester, where we 
have every reason to believe the school was continuous. Some 
records as Salem and Boston however continue the same as 
before, indicating the same method of control. In contrast to 
the records of these towns are those of Watertown where action 
is taken annually by the town meeting. From these facts it is 
reasonable to conclude that if the town had exercised full legis- 
lative power over their schools the records of that action would 
have been made, and that as it does not appear, the selectmen 
exercised the major portion of the control. 

(7) The character of the action of the town when taken shows 
a favorable disposition toward the selectmen. There is no evi- 



50 TJie Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

dence of interference or restriction upon their executive acts 
in any way. The whole tendency was toward granting- freedom 
of action. In contrast with this is the evidence of restriction 
and interference in the succeeding period. 

(8) Some towns as Boston and Salem continued the method of 
large control by the selectmen down into a later period. The 
records of the selectmen in Boston were written in greater detail 
at this later time and so we are enabled to study the working 
of the system as it was carried out in the earlier period. All 
that can be said here without anticipating a later chapter (^^ 
is to indicate those facts which point to control by the selectmen 
in this period, leaving the final proof of that fact to the chain of 
connected events which will be presented in the treatment of the 
next period. Boston must have at some time assumed the em- 
ployment of the master in its civil capacity. It must have 
adopted the voluntary contribution ; it must have elected masters 
on at least two occasions ; and it must have determined even 
more often how much should be raised for the benefit of the 
school in addition to the income from land, for this varied at 
different times. There is no evidence of town action at any 
time. On the other hand the meeting of the richer inhabitants 
in 1636 was a meeting of all the selectmen and some thirty men 
in addition which fact points to the activity of the selectmen in 
this and in later years as well. This alone would point strongly 
to the selectmen soon assuming full control as officials of the 
town. But later evidence will fully confirm the fact.^-^ 

These considerations taken together seem to establish beyond 
a doubt the conclusion that the selectmen did frequently perform 
legislative functions without specific instructions from the town. 
They acted as the " town's representative," by virtue of the 
broad powers bestowed upon them in town meeting. In this 
respect their position may be compared to that of the Assistants 
in the colonial government. ^^^ 

Control of schools was thus at times democratic, at times 
aristocratic, in character. Towns passed from one extreme to 
another with apparent ease. The two most strongly contrasted 
methods are found in the same town — Dorchester, in 1639 and 

(1) Chapter IV. 

(') See pp. 70-1. 

(3) Osgood I. pp. 167-8. The analogy between them and the fact that the records of the 
Assistants have been preserved only in part, strengthens the point in favor of unrecorded 
legislative action of the selectmen. 



Control and Support of the Church-Town School. 51 

] 
1645. This on the one hand indicates the formative stage of 
civil institutions when democratic and aristocratic tendencies 
were arrayed against each other, as was the case in the colonial 
government. On the other hand, it represents the persistence 
of the old methods of school control and of the w^orking of the 
Puritan conception of the school as an institution of the church 
in opposition to secular control of institutions, which was funda- 
mental in their theories of civil government. 

It is impossible from the nature of the evidence to determine 
absolutely which tendency w^as uppermost. We may judge only 
from the evidence at hand. It was the period of the permanent 
school committee or board of feoffees, and of major control 
of the selectmen in most towns not having the permanent school 
committee. These indications confirm with reasonable certainty 
the dominance of aristocratic control. But of this much we 
may be absolutely certain, this was the period ivhen the selectmen 
enjoyed the greatest freedom of control. 

From the standpoint of the agencies of control the school was 
a civil institution in a church-town. Transition from ecclesias- 
tical to civil control was accomplished by reason of that fact. 
Yet the character of these agencies was aristocratic like those of 
the church. From the standpoint of methods of support as 
was seen in the previous chapter the school was still an insti- 
tution of the church. It may be best characterized therefore 
as the church-town school. This term represents the transitional 
character of the school, the appearance of the new in agencies 
of control and the persistence of the old in methods of support. 



CHAPTER III 

CONTROL AND SUPPORT OF THE CIVIL SCHOOL 

PART L— METHODS OF SUPPORT 
I 647- I 700 

The passage of the law of 1647 introduced a new epoch in 
the history of school control and support. In control, the period 
is to be characterized as bringing about the universal dominance 
of the democratic secular tendency ; in the field of support, it 
is to be marked off as the time of the combined methods of the 
town rate and tuition rate, or rate on children. The period 
covers in general the latter half of the seventeenth and the first 
decades of the eighteenth century. It was also the time when 
the Puritan first appreciated the fact that the school was a com- 
pletely civil institution. 

At the time of the enactment of the law the town schools, 
as distinct from the private schools, were controlled largely and 
generally by a board of feoffees or the selectmen, who exer- 
cised equivalent powers. The masters were paid from the pro- 
ceeds of school " stock," or income from land, and the com- 
pulsory contributions. Usually the first two sources of income, 
when they existed, did not furnish the amount required. It is 
this balance formerly raised by the compulsory contributions in 
which this study in concerned. 

The law of 1647^^) is often quoted and well known, yet it 
must again be repeated here : 

" It being one of the chief projects of that old deluder Satan 
to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former 
times by keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter 
times by persuading from the use of tongues, that so at least the 
true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded by false 
glosses of saint-seeming deceivers, that learning may not be 
buried in the grave of our fathers in the church and common- 
wealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors : 

" It is therefore ordered. That every township in this jurisdic- 
tion, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty 
house-holders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their town 

(1) Mass. Col. Recs. 11. p. 203. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 53 

to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and 
read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters 
of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of 
supply, as the major part of those that order the prudentials of 
the town shall appoint: Provided, Those that send their chil- 
dren be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have 
them taught for in other towns ; and 

" It is further ordered, That where any town shall increase to 
the number of one hundred families or householders, they shall 
set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to in- 
struct youth, so far as they may be fitted, for the university: 
Provided, That if any town neglect the performance hereof 
above one year, that every such town shall pay five pounds to 
the next school until they shall perform this order." 

An analysis of this law from the point of view of its effect 
upon school control shows: 

1st. That it took away from the towns part of the legislative 
power formerly exercised by them through the town meeting 
and the selectmen. The legislative powers thus assumed by the 
General Court were the determination of the questions (a) 
whether the town should have a school, (b) the length of 
its term, (c) the kind of a school each town must have and 
(d) who should be admitted to it. 

2nd. That it created a new type of legislation, corresponding 
to that which was taken away. The voters of each town of 
fifty householders and over had now to determine, at least 
annually, through its town meeting or selectmen, whether it 
would obey the law. Each town had full liberty to decide the 
question as it chose, although in case of failure it made itself 
liable to the action of the judicial branch of the colonial govern- 
ment. It was the town's will that was executed in these respects 
as before, but a changed type of will. It was determined from 
the point of view of the standard set in the law, rather than 
from the conception of the people of their own needs. 

3rd. That it left with the town the legislative power of deter- 
mining the amount that should be expended in support of the 
master. The following clause, " provided, those that send their 
children be not oppressed by paying much more than they can 
have them taught for in other towns," was not in reality a 
limitation to the town. For no town would ever pay more than 



54 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

was necessary to secure a master, and if the least amount for 
which a master could be had was disproportionate to that paid 
in other towns, this clause would operate to suspend the law 
for that town for the time being. 

4th. That it left with the towns the legislative power of deter- 
mining how the master's salary should be raised. 

5th. That it did not affect the executive functions as exer- 
cised. No mention is made of this class of governmental 
functions. Each town still had supreme authority within its 
limits in this regard. There was no state supervision, and none 
of the town officers were required to execute any expression of 
the will of the colonial government. 

6th. That it did not expressly alter the relations heretofore 
existing between the organs of local government in their control 
of schools. It is " the township " or " town " in its corporate 
capacity that is addressed and held responsible. It was of no 
consequence which agency of the local government performed 
the various f unctions. ^^^ 

An analysis of the law from the point of view of determining 
its effect upon methods of raising the master's salary shows : — 

(1) Professor Suzzalo in his monograph on "The Rise of Local School Supervision in 
Massachusetts", interprets the phrase "those that order the prudentials of the town" as 
designating the selectmen. To the author its meaning is that either the town meeting or 
the selectmen could perform the function named, but that it was given to the town meeting 
primarily as the supreme power in the "town or township," which was held responsible 
in its corporate capacity for the observance of the law. If the "prudential affair" con- 
cerning the support of the master was by the town placed in any other agency, as the select- 
men, the "major portion" of those in that office could determine the question. 

While the General Court had the power to take away any legislative power it chose from 
the town meeting where it originally belonged by virtue of its own act of 1634 and to place 
it exclusively in the hands of the selectmen, yet to have done so would have violated prec- 
edent and the Puritan theory of government. The power to tax themselves directly in 
town meeting or indirectly by specific instructions was a liberty dearly prized and enjoyed 
throughout the colonial period. Such an interpretation is incongruous with the nature 
of the Puritan government. That it was not given this meaning is likewise fully demon- 
strated by the events of future years. 

The peculiarity of the expression "those that order the prudential affairs of the town" 
is of such a nature as to indicate when taken by itself alone that some special organ of 
government was meant. The use of this language therefore, needs explanation. It was 
a time when laws were loosely drawn. The legislators wished not to disturb the existing 
order of administration. In some towns the question of support was determined by town 
meeting; in others the selectmen had charge, in others still the feoffees raised the funds 
in both cases by order of the town meeting. At the same time it wished to hold all who 
composed the town corporation primarily responsible. The term "freemen" would not 
have sufficed for some non-freemen were entitled to vote in town affairs; the term "in- 
habitants" would have been too inclusive, for not all of them had the privilege of a voice 
in the town meeting; the term "freeholders" was inadequate as only residents in the town 
could vote. The term "those that order the prudential affairs" defined these individuals, 
and it also permitted the continuance of the existing order of administration in every town. 
Moreover, the use of the word "inhabitants" in connection with support is exact, for all 
had to contribute to the support of local affairs whether they had the right of suffrage or 
not. 

Prof. Suzzalo cites this as one of the instances in the evolution of school control by which 
the powers of the selectmen were continually increased. This interpretation of the course of 
the evolution is in direct opposition to the view taken in this study. A study dealing with 
a movement over so long a period of time as Prof. Suzzalo's could not in the limitations of 
a doctor's thesis take into account other colonial and town records than those which dealt 
with schools alone. Judging from these records alone his conclusion might seem well 
founded. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 



55 



1st. That it did not specifically change the method of support 
used by any town in the support of its school. It permitted 
the use of the contribution and compulsory contribution, either 
(a) by the parents or masters of those whose children attended, 
or (b) who had children of school age; or (c) by the inhabitants 
m general; or (d) by a combination of these methods. 

2nd. That its language, likewise, gave sanction to the laying 
of a tuition-tax upon those who attended, or a rate upon every 
child of school age, or a town rate upon estates and " abilities." 
or any of them in combination, or any one or more in com- 
bination with any method or methods under the first head. 

3rd. That income from land and endowment, and private 
bequests could be used in the support of the master as before. 
This source of income could be used in connection with any 
other method or combination of methods. 

In brief, the law did not specifically alter any practice in the 
control and support of any town school. Each town had the 
same freedom in the choice of agencies and methods as before. 
How then were the practices modified? In the first place, the 
law made the school a civil institution. This was the cap-stone 
to a conception that had been gradually forming in those towns 
havmg town schools. The respect in which the General Court 
was held caused the full confirmation of this view. In those 
towns which had not established schools this point of view would 
have been taken in no uncertain manner. It was required by 
the highest civil organ in the colony; its establishment was im- 
posed upon the town and they were held for the enforcement of 
the act as a civil corporation. In the second place, while the 
law did not stipulate the town rate it implied the power to levy 
It. The conditions required it. and the result was practically the 
same as if it had been required. 

These two general eflFects reinforced each other. The require- 
ment of a civil school carried with it the power to support it 
by the means of the civil tax. The use of the rate in turn 
furthered the democratic tendency in school control. As in the 
first period, so in this, it will be of advantage to treat first the 

Methods of Raising the Master's Salary. 
As the compulsory contribution had been an intermediate step 
in the evolution of the church rate and the poor rate in Eng- 



56 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

land, (^^ so it proved to be in Massachusetts in the evolution of 
school support from the free contribution to one of the two 
forms of rate levied in support of schools. The development 
of the two divergent tendencies in the compulsory contribution 
have been noted; one, toward the regular town rate on estates 
and " abilities," the other toward tuition imposed and collected 
by authority of the town, called in this study, the tuition-tax. 
These two rates assumed definite form immediately after the 
passage of the law of 1647 and both continued through the 
century. This history we are now to review. 

It will be of interest from two standpoints to break the whole 
period into two parts ; the first embracing only the very first 
records in the different towns, and, the second, all the subsequent 
history. By this we shall see (i) that the abandonment of the 
compulsory contribution was immediate, in contrast to the persis- 
tence of the old tendencies of control; and (2) that the town 
rate was used more generally at this time than a few years later. 

The dift'erent methods of raising the master's salary in use 
during the period were : 

( 1 ) The town rate. 

(2) The tuition-tax. 

(3) Tuition-tax on scholars attending and balance by town 
rate. 

(4) Tuition-tax on all children of school age and balance by 
town rate. 

(5) Town rate of fixed amount and all income from tuition- 
tax. (The last three are different combinations of the first two.) 

The presentation of the records of the first few years may 
be made without further comment. 

The first method was adopted by Charlestown in 1648. " It 
was agreed that a rate of fifteen pounds should be gathered 
of the town, towards the school for this year, and the five pounds 
that Major Sedgwick is to pay this year (for the island) for 
the school, also the town's part of Mistick wear for the school 
forever." In the margin are the words " allowance granted for 
a school. "(-) Newbury in 1652 and in 1653 levied a town rate: 



CM See pp. 20, ^7 note. t • i. 

(2) This record has been referred to previouslv as of doubtful date. It is here given 
the date that seems most logical. (See page 36). The reference made later to Charles- 
town in this chapter bears out this conclusion. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 57 

" Voted that there should be twenty pounds a year allowed for 
to maintain a schoolmaster out of the town rate." The record 
of the second year reads, — " At a general meeting of the town 
May 14, 1653 (?) there was ordered and voted that the town 
should by an equal proportion according to men's estates by way 
of rates pay four and twenty pounds by the year to maintain a 
free school to be kept at the meeting house and the master to 
teach all such inhabitants children as shall be sent to him so 
soon as they know their letters and begin to read." (^^ 

The plan of Dorchester in 165 1 provided for support by the 
town rate and the method was followed up to and including 
1653. This is evident from the following facts: In June, 1652, 
Mr. Butler, who was the master elected the previous May re- 
quested the selectmen "that the school rate may be gathered 
with the town rate." And it was listed with the town rate. " the 
rate for powder and the castle and the rate for the garrison 
debt," and undoubtedly on the same basis. The records of 1653 
show a similar inclusion of the school rate in the list and also 
the item of the payment of the money to Mr. Butler.<-> 

The record of the Boston town meeting in 1650 shows clearly 
the town rate : " It is also agreed that Mr. Woodmansey, the 
schoolmaster, shall have fifty pounds per annum for his teach- 
ing the scholars, and his proportion to be made up by rate." ('') 

It is probable that the rate was the method of support first 
used in Watertown. In the record of the town meeting voting 
the contract with the master it is stated : " that the town did 
promise to allow the said Richard for his employment thirty 
pounds for this year." The selectmen later agreed with the 
master " that for his pay he is to have it, at two several times, 
the first at or upon the 29th of the 8th month (51) and the other 
pay upon the 12th of the nth month f5i)."(4) While these 
records do not establish this statement be\-ond a doubt, yet it 
is the most probable of all the methods. 

The second method of support — that of tuition-tax — was 
adopted by Ipswich. In 1652, the school committee which was 
chosen " to receive all such sums of money, as have or shall be 
given toward the building or maintaining of a grammar school " 

(') Currier, Newbury, p. 395. 

(') Dorchester Recs. pp. 304, 306, 313, 315. 

(') Boston Recs. II. p. gg. 

(■*) Watertown Recs. I. p. 21. 



58 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

were empowered among other things to '' appoint " " from year 
to year what each scholar shall yearly or quarterly pay." ^^^ 

It seems very probable that the Salem plan of 1644 developed 
into a tuition-tax system, with the tuition of the poor children 
paid by a town rate. This conclusion is based upon the town 
record of 1670, which stated that the master was to have 20 
pounds from the town and " besides half-pay for all scholars 
of the town and whole pay from strangers." It seems from this 
that formerly the children of the town had given " whole pay," 
but that now in lieu of half of this the town would grant a 
rate.(--> 

The only town adopting the fourth plan was Dedham. It was 
framed in 1652 : " For the raising of the 20 pounds per annum 
for the schoolmaster's recompense, agreed upon the last general 
town meeting, it is ordered: (i) That all such inhabitants in 
our town as have male children or servants in their families 
betwixt the years 4 and 14 years of age shall pay for each such 
to the schoolmaster for the time being or to his use at his assign- 
ment in town in current payment the sum of 5 shillings per 
annum. (2) That whatsoever these sums shall fall short of the 
aforesaid sum of 20 pounds shall be raised by way of rating 
upon estates according to the usual manner. (3) That these 
sums shall be paid in two equal parts and proportions for the 
space of seven years next ensuing the first day of January, Anno. 
165 1 ; each half part to be paid at the end of each half year from 
time to time." ^^^ 

The third and fifth methods were not adopted by any of the 
towns immediately after the passage of the law. They were the 
product of a later evolution. 

The prominence of these two primary methods at this time 
is in line with the normal course of evolution from the compulsory 
contribution to the combined methods of the town rate and the 
tuition-tax. The town rate was the logical consequence of that 
tendency of the compulsory contribution which was, theoretically, 
imposed on all the inhabitants. For the strictly voluntary ele- 
ment in it, that in which each man stipulated the amount of his 
payment, must have become more and more unsatisfactory in 
its workings as the original spirit of the colony declined. As 

(1) Felt, Ipswich, Essex & Hamilton, p. 83. 

(*■) Felt, Salem I. p. 432. 

(3) Dedham Recs. Ill, p. 16. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 59 

this occurred, it then became necessary for the selectmen to fix 
the amounts which each should pay. Thus it approached closely 
to the town rate. When this stage was reached it became easy 
to adopt it alone. This had occurred in most of the towns 
previously in the support of the poor and in many of them in 
the support of the pastor.(^) The requirements of the law of 
1647 forced its use in the case of schools also. In like manner, 
the tuition-tax was the logical consequence of that tendency of 
the contribution which caused only the parents and masters to 
pay toward the support of the master. Parents failed to give 
in just proportion and so the town was compelled to fix the rate. 
When the town was made responsible for the maintenance of a 
school it was compelled in order to insure the support of the 
master to make the tuition a tax upon the parents. 

The town rate and tuition-tax as single methods of support 
existed but for a short time in most of the towns. The town 
rate was combined with the tuition-tax in Watertown in the 
following year.(-) It existed alone in Dorchester for no longer 
than four years, and probably for only three :(^> In Newbury 
the town rate was levied for two years. The next record in 
schools, twenty-two years later, shows its abandonment. (*> The 
next reference to schools in Charlestown twenty years after 1647 
or 1648 shows it to be no longer in use.(^) It is probable that 
it was dropped in these towns at an early date. In Boston it 
seems to have continued, but as will be shown later, custom 
had fixed an extra-legal payment to the master so that the school 
was not free of tuition charges to the pupil. 

The abandonment of the town rate as a sole means of school 
support so soon after its adoption may be accounted for in this 
manner. The compulsory contribution from all the inhabitants 
left a large discretion to the selectmen. While theoretically 
each man was expected to pay according to his estate and his 
"abilities," the selectmen could easily not apply the rule rigidly 
to a wealthy man who had no or few children in the school. 
But when the town rate was adopted no such discretion was 
possible. It had to be levied on the same schedule as the 

(J) See pp. 20, 37 note. 
(') Watertown Recs. I. pp. 21, 26. 
(3) porchester Recs.. pp. 304, 306, 313, 73, 82. 89, 96. 
(♦) Cumer, Newbury, pp. 395-6. 

(6) FrothinRham. Charlestown, pp. 157, 177. The town records for these years are 
not now extant. 



6o The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

country or colonial, and town rates. This naturally aroused 
the opposition of the more wealthy inhabitants. On the other 
hand, the custom of tuition in the private schools was well known, 
and the previous application of the compulsory contribution had 
recognized the responsibility of the parent for the education of 
his child. Thus an adjustment was afifected without great dif- 
ficulty, which in effect carried on very much the same order as 
had existed under the voluntary contribution. 

Tuition as the sole method of support persisted for a longer 
period. But as it was in all probability the custom for the town 
to pay the tuition of the poor children it was to some extent a 
combination of methods from the beginning. In Salem a town 
rate was levied in 1670. but soon abandoned because of the un- 
usually large income from the school fund.^^^ Of Ipswich we 
do not have data upon this point. Those towns imposing tuition 
alone would be led to adopt the town rate when tuition would 
no longer furnish a sufficient income for the school. And the 
fact that they already paid a rate as an item in the support of 
the poor would have made its further extension on the basis of 
the responsibility of society for the education of its children 



more easv 



(2) 



School support during the remainder of the period will now 
be presented. As has been indicated it is characterized by several 
plans which consisted of various combinations of the two primary 
methods, the town rate and tuition-rate. They were (3) (•'*) 
tuition-tax and balance of master's salary by town rate. (4) 
tuition-tax on all children of school age and balance by town 
rate. (5) town rate of fixed amount and all income from tuition- 
tax. 

In but few towns was there uniformity of practice throughout 
the period. While most of them may be characterized on the 
whole as using one of these plans of support, yet the rule was 
variety of practice, and in some of them there was great variety. 
When one method was not working satisfactorily, they would 



(!■) Felt, Salem I. p. 432- 

(2) It is of interest to note that this step completed the same evolution from voluntary 
support to a civil tax throuqh which the support of the church passed. The lesser 
importance of the school combined with the fact that there was greater apparent dispar- 
ity in the benefits received from it by different people permitted the partial abandonment 
of the plan. r , • i- • • 

(3) These numbers are those previously used at the begmnmg of this division of the 
chapter. See page 56. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 6i 

try another. There is seemingly no general principle of evolution 
in all this change. It will be therefore best to treat each town 
separately under the plan which seemed to prevail either through- 
out the period or for the first part of the period as the conditions 
dictate. 

A typical town of the first of those combinations and of the 
third method of support is Watertown. In January of 1652 Mr. 
Norcross was employed on the basis that <^) "every person that 
shall learn English only shall pay 3d. a week and such as write 

in Latin 46. and what the particulars do want of the full 

sum of 30 pounds the town doth hereby engage to make a supplv." 
In the following December he was again employed *' upon the 
same pay and the same privilege as he had last year."(-> In 
the years 1658 and 1659 are records of odd amounts due him 
which constitute the balance between the returns from tuition 
and his salary. (^^ In 1660 " ]\Ir. Norcross was chosen for school- 
master for this year upon the same terms as in former years. "(*^ 
In 1662 the terms were stated " as in former times, with the 
addition of six pounds " Mr. Norcross was continued as master, 
and presumably according to the same arrangement, until 1667. 
This year tuition was abandoned and the town rate supported 
the school except for the tuition of children from outside the 
town. The record making this marked change of method 
reads : — " Agree with Mr. Norcross to keep school for the 
year ensuing for 30 pounds. And the town agreed that the 
school should be free to all the settled inhabitants ; children that 
live in other towns to pay as before ; and their payment to be 
deducted out of the 30 pounds ; and the remainder to be made 
up by rate." ^"^ 

The remaining part of the history of the master's support 
in Watertown may be most advantageously given in another 
connection. The fifth method was used for a considerable portion 
of the time. An association of individuals partially supported 
the school for a year or more also.^") 

Springfield after giving the master in 1677 s" " encourage- 
ment " of land and what the pupils paid, agreed in 1678 to pay 

(') Watertown Recs. I. p. 26. 

(2) Ibid I. p. 31. 

(3) Ibid I. pp. s";. 58. 
(*) Ibid I. p. 64.' 

(5) Ibid I. p. 01. 
(9) See pp. 157-63- 



62 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

him a stipulated sum, the " parents aiid masters of such as send 
their children or servants, being to allow to ye town according 
to their manner of allowance to the schoolmaster the year past." 
The town made up the balance. The same method was followed 
in 1683. In 1685 there was this modification. Instead of the 
scholars only paying, it was " agreed that all parents or holders 
be enjoined to send their children and servants, and that all 
persons from the Round Hill to the Mill River that do not send 
their children that are above five years and under nine years, 
that said persons pay for such children for the space of half a 
year after the rate of two pence a week." No record of method 
of payment occurs again for over 20 years. In 1706, it is pro- 
vided that the " charge " of the school be carried on " according 
as the law directs." In the following year the scholars were 
assessed at the rate of three pence per week and the balance due 
the master was levied on the " town poles and estates." The 
law referred to was undoubtedly the colonial law of 1692, and 
the method was the same in both years.^^^ 

Dorchester followed the same method from 1655, when the 
selectmen took charge of the school. This conclusion is based 
(i) upon payment of money from the town rate in 1656 and 
thereafter, though insufficient to fully pay the salary; (2) upon 
insufficient levy in the town rate of 1657 for his maintenance; 
and (3) upon the following record of 1659 which provides for 
the rate upon scholars, — " At a meeting of the selectmen — there 
was a warrant given William Trescott (constable) for to gather 
of those parents and masters that sent their children or servants 
to the free school those sums that are in his list." In previous 
years the sums were paid without duress, or the empowering 
of the constable to collect was not recorded, or the town had not 
taken legal steps to enforce the payment — either of these three 
conditions might have held in these previous years which, from 
all outward appearances at least, seem to include a uniform policy 
of control and support. ^^^ 

Northampton adopted this plan for one year in 1687.^^^ 
Plvmouth in 1698. and probably for several years thereafter, 
alternated between it and the town rate.^*^ 



(1) Burt, Springfield II. pp. 131, 137. 163, 173. 372, 373- 

(2) Dorchester Recs. pp. 73, 82, 89, 96. 
(5) Trumbull, Northampton I. p. 386. 
(■*) Plymouth Recs. pp. 270, 303, 316. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 63 

The fourth plan of school support — tuition-tax on all children 
of school age and balance by town rate — adopted by Dedham at 
the time of the transition, was not practiced in any other town for 
any long period of time. The plan of 1652 was a tax on all 
the children in the town and a town rate for the balance. In 
1660 in levying the rate the order was, — " The school rate for 
the raising of 25 pounds and 5 pounds whereof is to pay Bro. 
Metcalf 1 2. 1 0.3 being by town vote to be borne by the scholars, 
the other paid by estates at id. per pound." That all the chil- 
dren of school age were implied in the term " scholars " is 
proven by the selectmen's acts upon the same. Jonathan Fair- 
bank, St., " made it appear that his youth is above age to pay 
the school rate, and it is therefore abated 4s. gd. Ralph Day 
is abated 2s. because his son went out of town." In 1664 the 
rate was " at 3s. 6d. each scholar the number of scholars being 
45," thus showing that the amount of the rate depended upon the 
number of children. The rate upon each in 1665 was 3s. 4 i-2d. 
In 1667 the record reads. — " A rate which is due from the 
male children that are capable to pay according to town order 
being assessed at 3s. 6d." The record of the school rate being 
imposed one-half on the children of the town and one half on 
estates is continuous to 1672. After this year there is no record 
of school support to 1679, Then the selectmen make a list of 
" names of such persons as are to pay to the school for their 
children." The record of 1680 is substantially the same, but 
contains only thirty names. We might be led to think that a new 
plan in which only the pupils of the school were taxed had been 
instituted were it not for the record of the year 1683 which tends 
to prove that the method adopted in 1660 still prevailed. " A 
rate made to defray town charges at id. per pound as deputy 
charges, etc., as also the one half the school rate; and the re- 
mainder of the school rate is raised upon the children as herein 
inserted." The small number of parents and masters included 
in the lists indicates strongly on the other hand that all the 
parents were not taxed by the selectmen, either in accordance 
with the expressed will of the town or of their own volition. 
Upon these points it is seemingly impossible to come to a decision. 
Possibly the legal method was that of 1660, and it was not prac- 
ticed. We do know, however, that there was dissatisfaction with. 
5 



64 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

the system of the master's support for in Jan. of 1685 a committee 
was appointed to consider the question. 

The report of this committee was adopted. It provided (i) 
" that the one half of the school charges as well for quality as 
quantity shall be raised upon the rateable estates of our inhabi- 
tants whether nearer the school or further ofif. (2) That all 
such persons as dwell within one mile and a quarter from the 
school having male children shall pay for each child five shillings 
a year from six years old to twelve years old." It then fixed 
a less rate for those living between one and one-fourth and two 
miles, while those beyond this limit were freed from a rate en- 
tirely. Besides, there was a fixed rate for the grammar scholars. 
In the light of these acts of the town it would seem probable 
that the selectmen had followed a different principle in the levying 
of the rate than that laid down in 1660. This plan was the result 
of a demand of the outer sections, the same in character which 
in some towns produced the moving school.^ ^^ This method 
was probably continued up to and including 1693, ^^ which time 
there was considerable opposition- to it. In 1694 the rate was 
imposed in the same manner as in 1660, at i/2d. per pound and 
" every male above seven and under 12 at 3s. per head." In the 
latter part of this year and thereafter the rate was levied only 
upon poles and estates. ^^^ 

The fifth method wherein the town rate was fixed at a certain 
sum and the remainder of the master's salary was left indefinite 
and dependent upon the number of scholars who attended was 
noted in the previous section as prevailing in Salem in 1670. 
It was continued up to 1677 when it was voted " that Mr. David 
Epps is called to be a grammar school master, so long as he shall 
continue and perform ye said plan in ye town, provided he may 
have what shall be allowed him, not by a town-rate, but in some 
other suitable way." This put support back upon the basis which 
existed before 1670 — income from land and endowment, and 
tuition. There was not another town rate for support of schools 
until 1734. Endowments here were comparatively many and 
returns from land were good. The tuition rate was fixed by 
town authority from year to year, according to the number of 
scholars and the amount of income from these sources. ^^^ 



(*) See Chapter lO. 

(') Dedham Recs. III. p. i6; IV. pp. i6, i8, oi. 104, 140, 160, 199, 211; V. pp. 92, 98, 
137. i.'io. 164, 222-3, 224, 229. 
(') Salem, pp. 432. 434-447- 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 65 

Newbury in 1676 increased its " encouragement " to a sub- 
stantial wage of 20 pounds and ordered that in addition the master 
should have what the committee and the master " shall agree 
upon for children that shall come to school to him." In 1678 
and 1680 this method was evidently continued as the 20 pounds 
was voted each year. In '81 because of the interference of the 
General Court in fixing the amount of the master's salary at 60 
pounds, the town was compelled to depart from its custom and 
to levy " a rate on the town in part, and the rest on the scholars 
that have been instructed by the said Mr. Emerson." In the 
latter part of the year they return to the old method by levying 
a rate of 20 pounds " for the payment of Mr. Bailey." The 
schedule of the scholars' payment is not given. Mr. Bailey's 
successor was paid " twenty pounds in good county pay, besides 
what the scholars shall give." This was the record of 1687. 
The town's vote on his employment stated "ye scholars to pay 
as formerly." Undoubtedly the method was continuous. In 
1690, the master's salary was "25 pounds in town's pay — and 
the pay of the scholars according to custom." In the following 
year the master's salary was 30 pounds from the town, on con- 
dition he would teach " readers free, Latin scholars six-pence 
per week, writers and cypherers four pence per week." In other 
words the elementary school was free from tuition charges. 
This diflFerence in payment of scholars was carried out in 1696, 
except here the distinction was between " the Latin scholars " 
and those " that come to him to read, write and cipher," the 
latter being freed from charges. <^> 

Northampton followed this same plan — the fifth — from the 
beginning of its school in 1664 to 1671. In the first year the 
town was " to give Mr. Cornish six pounds toward the school 
and to take the benefit of the scholars." In 1667 the master 
was " to have out of the town stock ten pounds " and " four 
pence per week from such as are in the primer and other English 
books " and " six pence per week to learn accidence, writing, 
casting accounts." In 1671 it seems probable that they changed 
to the third plan though this is not positively affirmed until the 
year 1687.(2) 

/2N Currier Newbury, pp. 397, 398, 399, 400, 401. 

( ) Irumbull, Northampton, pp. 141, 191. 103, 222, 383. 



66 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

While these three methods of support were dominant during 
the period, yet there were two towns in which the town rate 
was the prominent method. These were Boston and Braintree. 
Yet there were in both towns certain additional charges. In the 
former town custom alone seems to have required it of the pupils. 
In Boston in 1683 ^^ the time of the establishment of the two 
writing schools it was ordered that the master should receive 
twenty-five pounds from the town and " that such persons as 
send their children to school (as are able) should pay something 
to ye master for his better encouragement in his work." In 
1 74 1, the selectmen reported to the town that they did not find 
" any demand of entrance money made of the inhabitants." For 
" firing " however the master required of each pupil five shillings 
a piece. This " perquisite " as well as fees from out-of-town- 
children the master insisted on as " his right." These references 
establish clearly the custom of a charge upon pupils during this 
period. ^^^ 

In Braintree, the records from 1678 to 1700 ^^^ mention only 
the town rate in addition to the support from the land. This 
may have been all ; but the required payment of " quarter money " 
— a fee payable four times a year to the master — in 1668^^^ 
and probably in 1678, and in 1700 and 1703 (*^ and probably 
to 1715, indicates a strong probability of its continuance in the 
meantime, as in Boston. The relations between the two towns 
were very close, many people owning property in both towns. 
They were, furthermore, the only two towns which contain 
reference to a payment to the master at entrance. These con- 
siderations strengthen this point of view. It is a matter however 
which cannot be settled. ^^^ 

The master's support during the latter half of the seventeenth 
century was, on the whole, the period of a combination of the 
town rate and tuition-tax. Each of these elements was an evolu- 
tion of one of the two tendencies in the application of the compul- 
sory contribution in the preceding period. They were combined 
in three different ways, and the towns changed from one com- 
bination to another at will. Usually, in each town, one of them 



(*) Boston Recs. II. p. 99; VII. pp. 57, 161; XII. p. 379. 
(') Braintree Recs. pp. 18, 20, ai, 27, 28, 29, 33, 39. 
(») Ibid. p. 9. 
{*\ Ibid, pp. 47, 54. _ 

(*) It is well to note m this connection that Watertown used the town rate aloae from 
1667 to about 1690. Watertown Recs. I. p. 91 — II. p. 39, passim. See pp. 167-8. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 67 

was the most prominent. Nevertheless, the town rate and tuition 
were the chief sources of support in addition to school funds in 
a few towns. These were, however, the commercial towns, and 
so had but little part in the creation of the moving school. The 
rural town (^> in which the town rate was prominent at one time 
abandoned it before the end of the century. 

(i) Watertown. 



CHAPTER IV 

CONTROL AND SUPPORT OF THE CIVIL SCHOOL 

PART II — AGENCIES OF CONTROL 
I 647- I 700 

The account of school control in those towns which had schools 
previous to 1647 is one of increasing- democratization and secu- 
larization. Towns which established schools for the first time in 
response to the law or which did not increase to the size of fifty 
householders until a later time were generally democratic in the 
control of their schools from the first. The towns must there- 
fore be divided into two classes. 

Some new agencies of school control must now be reckoned 
with — the greater prominence of the temporary school com- 
mittee, and the interference of the General Court in prescribing 
duties for the selectmen in connection with schools. Considera- 
tion of these processes may be postponed until after the move- 
ment in each of the towns is traced. The increasing democratic 
tendency in social and political affairs in the local centers requires 
attention, however, at this point. *^^ The first generation was 
passing away with the opening of the second half-century. The 
generations which followed did not possess the personality, the 
ideals and the abilities of their fathers. The social bonds were 
loosened and the social ranks began to undergo a levelling pro- 
cess. This contributed to the independence of the individual in 
all of his interests and decreased the influence of the Elders in 
the settlements. The settlement by groups of people closely 
bound together by religious ties had come to an end. and the 
centers in the old towns had begun to extend outward in response 
to the economic interests of individuals. ^^^ The power of the 
Church had begun visibly to wane, so that by 1662 it was com- 
pelled to open its doors more widely, for fear that all distinctions 



(•) Osgood, Pol. Science Quarterly VI. pp. 36-18. Here is an excellent brief summary 
of the developing democratic tendency in colonial affairs during the earlier period. 
(') See Chapter 6. 



Control and Support of the Ciznl School. 69 

between it and the world would be obliterated/ ^'^ In response 
to these changing social and economic conditions the qualifica- 
tions for local citizenship were placed on a purely civil basis 
in 1658.*-' Then also, as town and colonial government de- 
veloped, the functions and powers of the different officials became 
more clearly defined. There thus resulted a definite limitation 
of the authority of selectmen in the control of schools. 

It will be recalled that the powers granted the selectmen in 
the earlier period were entirely or almost entirely unlimited. ^^^ 
Dedham may be taken as an example. In 1639 the selectmen's 
powers were, " that whatsoever powers all ye whole company of 

townsmen themselves so met together had the very same 

power is now given unto the selectmen.<''> By 1651 this full 
power had become limited in three particulars." "(i) The ad- 
mitting of men to the privilege of being townsmen. (2) The 
granting of a general dividend. (3) The granting of farms.' 
In 1660 it was ordered that " a special committee be appointed 
"to give. instruction to the present selectmen." This shows a 
close supervision over their administration and the necessity of 
a more careful limitation of their power than that which could 
be given in town meeting directly. That the town meeting itself 
did carefully review their acts under these limited powers is seen 
in the record of the general town meeting of 1671, which in all 
probability indicated a custom. The record of this meeting opens 
with this statement: "The acts of the selectmen for the year 
last past being read ;" and then follows the record of the other 
business transacted. <^^ The Boston records indicate a similar 
tendency beginning with the year 1651. The powers of the 
selectmen had not been acted upon in town meeting for some 
years. At the annual meeting of this year after the election of 
the selectmen a committee was appointed " to draw up the power 
to be given the selectmen, which is first to be presented to the 
town and consented to if they see cause." In 1653, instructions 
" in addition to what instructions they already have " were 
ordered prepared. In 1659 it was ordered that the " instructions 
already given to the selectmen in writing be still in force till 
the town presents others to them." In 1660 this action was 

(1) Se« Chapter s- 

(2) Mass. Col. Rccs. IV., pt. I. pp. 335-6. 

(3) See p. 37. 

(*) Dedham Recs. III. p. 62. 

(5) Ibid III. p. 5. Ibid IV. p. 30. Ibid IV. p. 107. 



70 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

repeated/^^ Unfortunately we do not have these instructions 
at hand. It is safe to conclude, nevertheless, that the selectmen 
were now compelled to act within their powers as defined by 
the town meeting, and probably in considerable detail. The day 
of granting of general powers had passed. 

There were two types of school control in the towns dunng 
the latter half of the century, — the first, wherein the selectmen 
performed legislative functions ; the second, in which the town 
exercised the legislative powers in town meeting. The former 
was a survival of the old order previous to 1647, 3.nd was confined 
entirely to those towns which had schools at that time. The latter 
was the new democratic tendency in school control. The his- 
tory of school control in the towns in the first class reveals a 
diminution in the powers of the selectmen, which resulted in a 
transition from the dominance of this agency in legislation 
previous to 1647 to full control by the town meeting before the 
close of the century. 

Boston offers the clearest illustration of the movement. In 
response to the law of 1647, which fixed the status of the school 
as a civil institution, full legislative action was taken by the 
town meeting in the year 1650 for the first time in the history 
of the town. Strange to say, however, like action was not again 
taken for over thirty years, so that this record stands out isolated 
and appears to be almost an anomaly.^^^ The selectmen besides 
caring for the school property, school land, and the school funds, 
which would properly be included under their ministerial func- 
tions, did exercise full legislative power concerning the schools 
proper. The recorded instances are as follows : ( i ) At a meet- 



{}) Boston Recs. II. pp. 103, 114, 150, 154. The records of the other towns do 
not offer material for the study of this movement to so good an advantage. The writer 
sees no reason, however, for there being any difference between the towns in this respect. 
Obviously the subject belongs to another study which unfortunately has not as vet been 
made. 

Chase in his History of Haverhill gives the following as the substance of the "powers 
of selectmen" voted by the town meeting (about 1670): 

"They had power: i. To order and appoint when Mr. Ward's salary should be paid, 
levy rates for the same, and to take them by distress, if not paid otherwise. 2. To observe 
all orders of the town, and collect all fines. 3. To pay all debts of the town, by fines due, or, 
by rates in general. 4. To make all rates necessary to defray the town's debts. 5. To 
call town meetings at discretion. 6. To see that all laws of the County were observed and 
kept. 7. To act in all prudential affairs of the town according to law. 8. To observe all 
orders of the town as near as they can." 

This is the only record of detailed instruction that the author has met in his study. The 
contrast between them and those of the earlier time is evident. (Chase, Haverhill, p. 114.) 

(}) The action was as follows: — "It is also agreed on that Mr. Woodmansey, the school- 
master shall have fifty pounds per annum for his teaching the scholars, and his propor- 
tion to be made up by rate." Boston Recs. II, 99. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. yi 

ing of the selectmen in August, 1667, " Benjamin Thompson 
being made choice of the selectmen for to officiate in the 
place of the schoolmaster for one year, Mr. Hall [one of their 
number] being appointed to agree for terms." ^^^ (2) In 
1670 Ezekiel Cheever was elected and installed in the fol- 
lowing manner: ''22: 10: 1670. At a meeting of the honored 
Governor Richard Bellingham, Esq., Major General John 
Leverett, Ed. Tynge, Esq. Magistrate ; Mr. John Mayo, Mr. 
John Oxenbridge, Mr. Thomas Thatcher, and Mr. James Allen, 
Elders; Capt. Thomas Lake, Capt. James Oliver, Mr. John 
Richards, and John Joyliife, Selectmen of Boston. It was ordered 
and agreed that Mr. Ezekiel Chevers, Mr. Thomson, and Mr. 
Hinksman should be at the Governor's house that day seven- 
night to treat with them concerning the free school." At a 
meeting of the same men ^-'> held at the appointed time, " it was 
agreed and ordered that Mr. Ezekiel Cheevers should be called 
to and installed in the free school as head master thereof, which 
he being then present, accepted of, likewise that Mr. Thomson 
should be invited to an assistant to Mr. Cheevers in his work 
in the school, which Mr. Thomson being present, desired time 
to consider of and to give his answer ; — And upon the third of 
January, gave his answer to Major General Leverett in the nega- 
tive, " Upon the sixth of January 1671 these same men 

met and " repaired to the school and sent for Mr. Thomson who 

resigned up the possession of the school and school house 

to the Governor, etc., who delivered the key and possession of 
the school to Mr. Ezekiel Cheevers as the sole master thereof. 
And it was further agreed that the said Mr. Cheevers should be 
allowed sixty pounds per annum for his service in the school out 
of the town rates and rents that belong to the school, and the 
possession and use of the school house." ^^^ 

(3) In the latter part of the year 1671, Capt. Daniel Hinksman, 
who had been usher under Mr. Thomson was " allowed f 10 over 
and above his year's salary ending the first of March last as a 
gratuity from the town for not having sufficient warning to 
provide otherwise for himself." (*) 

All of these acts are plainly legislative acts of a primary 
order. They were furthermore complete. To this point, except 

(1) Boston Recs. VII. p. 38. 

(*) There were seven selectmen at this time. 

(3) Boston Recs. VII. p. 57. 

(*) Ibid VII. p. 63. 



72 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

for the act of 1650, there had been no change in the character 
of the acts performed by this agency. This practically unbroken 
series of similar acts proves conclusively the existence of this 
order of administration before 1647. However, this does not 
mean that the acts had the same sanction. The authority given 
to the selectmen before 1647 was general; here it was probably 
specific. The selectmen were probably delegated the power and 
assigned the duties involved in the complete control of the school 
by their instructions from the town meeting beginning about the 
year i65i.(^^ 

This complete control of the selectmen continued until 1689. 
In the meantime, however, the town passed upon three acts in- 
volving schools, all of which are in line with the prevailing- 
tendency to place large powers in the selectmen. The acts of 
the town and selectmen during these years will now be reviewed. 

The first two acts of the town after 1650 are to be joined 
together. They both relate to the education of the poor children. 
The first, that of 1679, simply referred to the selectmen a propo- 
sition which came up in town meeting regarding " a free school 
to teach the children of poor people." ^-^ The burning of the 
almshouse in 1682 and the obligation of the town, because of an 
agreement with its donor to rebuild the same in such event, caused 
the second act. A tax was levied for the erection of a new 
almshouse and a committee appointed to attend to it. The amount 
of the tax was to be determined by the committee and selectmen 
acting in conjunction. Immediately after this business was com- 
pleted " it was voted by ye inhabitants that the said committee 
with ye Selectmen consider of and provide one or more Free 
Schools for the teaching of children to write and cipher within 
this town." (^^ 

The first act of the selectmen during this period was taken 
in pursuance of the above directions. " It was voted by the said 
committee, first, that two schools shall be provided and agreed 
for: secondly, that the towai shall allow ^25 per annum for each 
school for the present ; and that such persons as send their 
children to school (that are able) should pay something to ye 
master for his better encouragement in his work." ^*^ 

(') Co-operation of the colonial officers in 1670 was extra-legal. It is doubtless also a 
survival of aristocratic interference. 
(') Boston Recs. VII. p. 127- 
(3) Ibid VII. pp. 157-8. 
(*) Ibid VII. p. 161. 



Control and Support of the Cknl School. 73 

The second recorded act of the selectmen was in con- 
sequence of this one just given. Two of them " made return 
that according to a former order they had agreed with John 
Cole to keep a free school to teach ye children of the town to 

read and write for one year for which the town is to pay 

him iio in money and £20 in country pay as money, or at monev 
price."(^) Here, again, are two instances of legislation of a 
primary order enacted by the selectmen. In connection with 
the record it is worth while to note that the provision of the 
first act regarding subjects to be taught and amount to be paid 
were not observed in the second. It is evident that the schools 
having once been established and the committee having ceased 
to exist by reason of the performance of the acts it was delegated 
to perform, the selectmen assumed the same unrestricted control 
as they did over the grammar school. 

The third act of the town — 1685 — had to do with the income 
from land. It was of no consequence for it referred the question 
to the selectmen to whom it logically belonged. ^-^ 

The next act of the town in 1689 — the fifth in its history — 
marks the turning point in the method of control of schools. 
It was then " voted that the former custom and practice in 
managing the affairs of the free schools be restored and con- 
tinued.^'^ The votes on this resolve tended undoubtedly to 
create a different regime of administration from that which had 
been prevailing. Their plans were plainly as indefinite as was 
their language. What they could have meant by the " former 
custom and practice " is almost beyond conjecture in the light 
of the evidence that no other order from even the earliest time 
ever existed unless it had been in the year 1650. Perhaps 
it was a knowledge of this record on the part of the supporters 
of the resolution that is responsible for the language used. When 
taking into account the fact that a radical change was evidently 
intended and that this was apparently to a more direct control 
of schools by the town meeting, this explanation of the wording 
of the act seems plausible. But whatever the interpretation of 
the act or the reason for the language used, the fact is that 
from this time on the people in town meeting did legislate more 

(') Boston Recs. VII. p. 171. 

(2) Ibid VII. p. 174. 

(3) Ibid VII. p. 107, 



74 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

frequently and upon a greater variety of matters than in any 
previous period of the town's history. 

To estabHsh the fact that the town meeting did assume powers 
formerly delegated to and exercised by the selectmen, three acts 
of the town may be set off in contrast with three of the former 
acts of the selectmen. 

(i) In 1690 Mr. Cole, who had been selected in 1684 by the 
selectmen for the reading and writing school, was elected by 
the town. The act reads : 

" Ordered that Mr. John Cole be allowed to keep a free school 
for reading and writing and that ye selectmen agree with him 
for his salary.(^) 

(2) In 1 67 1 the selectmen had allowed Daniel Hinksman ten 
pounds in addition to his salary. In 1697 the town voted " that 
Mr. Cole master of the Free writing school of Boston shall have 
iio added to his salary the year ensuing which will be £40 for 
said year." ^^^ 

(3) In 1671 the selectmen first decided to have an assistant 
to Mr. Cheever, and since Mr. Thomson declined the place and 
Capt. Hinksman left, it is presumed they decided not to have any. 
Evidently they had full control of the decision of this question 
as well as of the salary to be paid. 

In March of 1699, the town voted " that an assistant be pro- 
vided with Mr. Cheevers in the Latin School. Voted further to 
be left to the selectmen, to make choice of the person, and to 
treat with him about his salary, making report thereof to the 
town." In the May following the selectmen had reported, for 
it was then " voted by said inhabitants that the selectmen shall 
agree with Mr. Ezekiel Lewis, for his salary as an Assistant to 
his grandfather Mr. Ezekiel Cheever in the Latin School, not 
exceeding £40 per year." ^^^ 

These contrasted records need no comment to show the change 
in methods of control. It is to be noticed, however, that in the 
town's acts there is a progress with the passing of the years to 
a fuller assertion of control. In 1699 the selectmen act merely 
as a temporary committee for a specific purpose, and the amount 
of their direction is limited to a considerable degree. 



{') Boston Recs. VII. p. 200. 

(*) Ibid VII. pp. 73.227. 

(^) Ibid VII. pp. 57, 234, 236. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 75 

It does not seem necessary to cite other references to prove 
the fact that the town had assumed full legislative control and 
that the selectmen's duties had become purely ministerial in 
character. From this time the town retains direct control of 
its school affairs and the selectmen or the school committee are 
held constantly accountable for their acts. 

School control in Dorchester during this period is characterized 
by an alternating policy in the relative powers of the town meet- 
ing and the selectmen. In the plan of control adopted in the 
year 1651/^) the town exercised full legislative control, directed 
the selectmen to procure a master, and then ratified their choice 
and the contract, thereby levying the rate. This plan was fol- 
lowed until 1653. Then in general town meeting " it was voted 
that the selectmen should provide a school master for the town 
of Dorchester this present year." The selectmen hired the 
former master, but the agreement was not ratified by the town. 
The town two months later passed the rate for paying him.^^^ 

The selectmen in 1655 agreed with the master as follows: 
" It is agreed by and between the Selectmen of Dorchester for 
the time being on the one part in the behalf of the town and 
Thomas Wiswall and his son Ichabod Wiswall that Ichabod 

should teach "unto the end of three full years all such 

children as by inhabitants shall be committed unto his care in 
English, Latin and Greek and also instruct them in writ- 
ing as he shall be able." for which service "the Select- 
men of Dorchester shall from year to year pay or cause to be 
paid unto Ichabod or his father by his assignment the full sum 
of twenty-five pounds two-thirds in wheat peas or barley mer- 
chantable and one-third in Indian " In 1657 at a meeting 

of the selectmen " there was order given for the making of a 
rate of thirty pounds for the use of the school and town." At 
their meeting the following month " the selectmen did order that 
the constable should pay the school master i20 out of the rate 
abovesaid." At their June meeting in 1658 Major Atherton 
" was intreated to speak with the schoolmaster to know his mind 
whether he will keep school for longer time," and Mr. Potter 
was " intreated to look up what notes and papers he hath that 
concern the accounts of the scholars for the two years past, 56 

(') The town ended its system of aristocratic control by a board of feoffees in 1651. 
Dorchester Recs., p. 304. 
(') Ibid, pp. 313, 315. 



76 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

and 57; and bring diem to the selectmen." Both Atherton and 
Potter were selectmen/^) 

jWhile it cannot be stated absolutely that the town did not per- 
form a single legislative act. the weight of probability favors the 
conclusion that it performed but few. As has been shown in the 
second chapter/'^ absence of record favors action by the select- 
men. Secondly, there is certain internal evidence in the records 
as given that points to the fact that the selectmen were taking 
the initiative in school affairs, which would strongly indicate that 
they performed some of the legislation, and probably a major 
portion of it. Had the town meeting exercised the legislative 
functions during these years we would expect to read, the tozun 
agrees to " pay or cause to be paid " the wages to the master and 
not the selectmen. We would expect also the town to pass upon 
the question whether it wished the school to continue instead 
of the selectmen inquiring of the master " whether he will keep 
school for a longer time.'' 

In 1659 after the probable lack of a school during the previous 
year, at the general town meeting in March " it was concluded 
and voted that they would have a school kept in Dorchester as 
in former times." ^^^ Undoubtedly the selectmen passed the re- 
maining necessary legislation. It is the continuation of the old 
regime and this record strengthens the point of view taken upon 
the character of the administration during the previous five 
years. 

The following year events follow along a new course. The 
administration of the selectmen evidently was not satisfactory 
for the town took steps in rather a rude fashion. It ordered 
that " Mr. Poole is to keep the school until his year be ended. 
Also it was voted the same day that the selectmen are to labor 
to provide a schoolmaster by that time that Mr. Poole's year be 
ended." In 1661, 1664 and 1665 it was voted to have a school 
and Mr. Poole was elected in town meeting. Though the terms 
of his salary are not set forth, they were doubtless already fixed 
and the town meeting approved of them. In 1666 it was voted 
to have a school and a special committee of three was appointed 
" to endeavor to procure a school master " and furthermore it 
was agreed that '* Mr. Poole should be spoken unto to go on in 



(') Dorchester Recs. pp. 73, 87, 8q. 

(*) See p. 49. 

(5) Dorchester Recs. p. 97- 



Control and Support of the Civil School. yj 

keeping school until another master be procured, at the same 
rate as formerly " and a committee of one appointed to see him. 
The committee failed and in 1668 the same action was taken 
regarding the continuance of Mr. Poole, and the same committee 
was instructed to perform the same office except at this time 
it was voted in addition, " they do give them full power to agree 
with such a man as they shall judge meet not exceeding forty 
pounds a year."^^^ 

Thus Mr. Poole, though his teaching seems to have been un- 
satisfactory, rendered a real service to the town of Dorchester 
in re-establishing direct control of the schools in the town meet- 
ing. Thenceforth the selectmen or the special committee acted 
under instruction of the town meeting and for limited periods. 
They now became solely the ministerial officers of the town. The 
amount of legislation performed by the town and the amount of 
authority delegated varied in different years. They usually em- 
ployed the master, though in one year, he was elected in town 
meeting. This act involved the fixing of the amount of the 
money to be expended also. The manner of raising the master's 
salary seems not to have been altered from that followed in 
1657-8.^-^ Thus at the time when the printed records close, 
the town meeting was passing upon the most fundamental 
question of having a school ; the selectmen were fixing the 
amount to be raised, though under supervision from the town, 
and the manner of raising the salary was established by custom. 

Salem continued to leave the administration of her schools in 
the entire control of the selectmen. Finally in 1670, the town 
took its first action regarding schools after the passage of the 
law of 1647. At this time it assumed full control, instructing 
the selectmen to choose the master and to fix the amount of his 
salary. In 1677 the town elected the master and specified terms 
of agreement in a negative way. These included the fixing of 
the tuition, the details of which the selectmen arranged. ^^^ In 
1699 the town in its written instruction to the selectmen said: 
" You shall give ye Grammar master such instructions and direc- 
tions, as you shall think needful for regulation of ye school," 



(•) Dorchester Recs. pp. 102, io8, 121, 128, 136, 145. 

(') Ibid pp. 210, 182, iq8, 228, 257, 268. 

(3) Voted by ye town that Mr. Daniel Epps is called to be a grammar school master for 
ye town, so long as he shall continue and perform ye said place in ye town, provided he shall 
have what shall be annually allowed him, not by a town vote, but in some other suitable 
way. Felt, Salem, I. pp. 432, 434. 



yS The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

which covered, evidently, executive acts only. The selectmen, 
however, fixed the salary and determined for two succeeding mas- 
ters how it should be raised, presumably under instructions from 
the town. In 1700 the inhabitants " without the bridge " were 
voted £15 annually for three years for the purpose of maintain- 
ing schools. In 1712 the school committee, which became a 
permanent institution, was first appointed. This was the begin- 
ning of a new regime in school control. Thus Salem, in general, 
is like Boston in its evolution of school control, though the details 
of it are not so clear. ^^^ 

Charleston, and Ipswich ("^ also, in all probability, belonged 
to this class, but the histories of the towns (there are no printed 
records) are not sufficiently full to permit the outlining of the 
process of development. ^^^ 

In the second type of towns, the town meeting performed 
practically all the legislative functions and the selectmen acted 
as ministerial agents with very limited powers throughout the 
entire period. Watertown and Newbury furnish the best ex- 
amples. Dedham is not strictly of either type. It is like the 
second in that its system of control was uniform and in that the 
selectmen acted under close supervision. It is like the first in 
that its selectmen were given considerable administrative dis- 
cretion. It will therefore be given later as a system of control 
midway between the two general types. 

There is no reference to a school in the records of Watertown 
until 1649. In that year the selectmen, probably acting under 
instruction from the town, directed John Sherman, one of their 
number, " to write a letter in the town's name unto David 
Mitchell of Stamfourth to certify to him the town's desire of 
him to come and keep a school in the town." Thirteen months 
later a different policy was pursued. The inhabitants in town 
meeting " voted and agreed upon that Mr. Rich. Norcross was 
chosen schoolmaster for the teaching of children to read and 
write and so much of Latin, according to an order of the Court, 
as also if any of this said town, have any maidens that have a 

(') Felt, Salem, pp. 430-9, 440, 442. 

(*) Frothingham, Charleston, pp. 157, 177. Barnard's Amer. Jour, of Education XXVII. 
p. 127; XVI. p. 105. 

(3) The records of Cambridge contain so Httle regarding school control that no adequate 
description of it can be given. It is very probable, however, that the selectmen adminis- 
tered the school — that is the reading and writing school. The grammar school was main- 
tained as a private school with little action by the town. Cambridge Recs. pp. 293, 296. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 79 

desire to learn to write that the said Richard should attend them 
for the learning of them; as also that he teach such as desire 
to cast account, and that the town did promise to allow the said 
Richard for his employment thirty pounds for the year."(i> 

This contract was passed in town meeting. It represents an 
extreme extension of legislative power, including as it does several 
features of acts that would ordinarily be performed by the 
executive organ of the local government. There was little left 
for the selectmen to decide upon, and their duties must have 
been little more than to see that the provisions of the town's 
act were met. Management of the school was as completely 
democratic as possible. 

The unusual degree to which Watertown carried the minutia 
of administration into town meeting in 165 1 was maintained 
quite consistently for many years. All of the four primary acts (2) 
of legislation were practically always passed in town meeting. 
In addition, the time for the beginning of the school, and the 
amount of firewood per pupil were likewise determined there. 
Only in one instance, in 1677, did the selectmen agree with the 
master, and then under express instruction from the town. (3) They 
did, however, in most of the yeafs fix the time for the beginning 
of the school, the dates for the payment of fees, and decide upon 
similar questions of an executive nature. Nevertheless, it is seen 
that their discretionary power was of an inferior order and of 
a more limited extent than enjoyed by the selectmen of Dedham. 
The people of Newbury acted less frequently through their 
town meeting than those of Watertown, but more frequently 
and in greater detail than those of Dedham. The town fixed 
the subjects to be taught in 1675 (the first year whose records 
are extant after 1653) in 1689, 1690 and 1691 ; fixed the wages 
and determined how they should be raised in 1677, 1680, 1687, 
1689. 1690, 1691 ; and elected the master in 1678, 1681 and 1687.' 
The selectmen acted entirely within the fixed limits of ministerial 
duties, which in character and number were midway between 
the two other towns. <*^ 

School administration in Braintree, Plymouth, Springfield 
and North ampton was of the same kind. The town meetings 

(i^ Watertown Recs. I. pp. 18, 21. 
(') See page 13. 

aftir ils^o."'*"^" ^""- ^- PP- "• "°' '">■ This statement does not apply to the time 
(*) Currier, Newbury, pp. 396-401. 

6 



8o The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

passed practically all the legislation and even at times elected 
the master and passed the contracts, as in the case of Water- 
town. The selectmen's position seems to have been mid-way 
between that occupied by those in Dedham and those in 
Watertown with respect to the amount of their activity in 
legislation. Their duties were strictly ministerial in character 
and they were held to a close account of their acts.^^^ It is not 
necessary in this study to give a detailed description of this 
system. 

The feoflfees of Dedham in 1645 were given merely ministerial 
functions. This board came to an end with the act of 1651, 
which created a school for seven years, fixed the salary of the 
master and the manner in which it should be raised.^- The 
law of 1647 was accepted as determining the kind of school. Dur- 
ing this entire period the selectmen employed the master though 
there was no express direction to do so. It seems to have been 
accepted as one of the necessary ministerial acts. The powers 
of the selectmen and of the feoflfees were thus the same. These 
thirteen years fixed the tendency ; it was conformed to through- 
out with two slight variations. The town did not in every year 
or term of years signify its will to have a school. This was done 
in 1657, 1661 and 1662, and in 1676. The year of King Philip's 
war the matter was referred to the selectmen. (^) The other 
years it seems to have been assumed. The other exception was 
in regard to the amount of the master's salary. When teachers 
became scarce, it was left to the selectmen to fix the amount. 
This was a proper extension of the ministerial function. The 
town elected the master in 1657, 1664, (*^ the selectmen in most 
of the years thereafter. (^^ The town's acts were, in addition to 
the above, an appointment of a committee to represent the town 
in the receipt of a gift of money as an endowment for a Latin 
School in 1680, the appointment of a committee to propose a 
changed method of raising the master's salary, the adoption 
of their report in 1685. the abolition of the tax in 1694, and the 
" determination of the amount to be levied for support of school 



(1) Braintree Recs. pp. i8, 20, 27, ,33, 40, 47, 48, so. s8, 7°. 86, 75. 

Burt, Sprinnrfield, I, pp. 131, 137. II, pp. I37, 163, i73 i04, 368, 373, 380, 382 

Trumbull, Northampton, I. pp. 141, 191, 193, 386, 426, 427. 

Plymouth Recs. pp. 141, 224, 245. 

(}") Dedham Recs. III. pp. 15, 16, 135. 193. 

(S) Ibid III. p. 140; IV. pp. 27, 42; v. p. 40. 

(■») Ibid III. pp. 140, 147, 149, IV. p. 83. 

(5) Ibid IV. pp. 6, 32, 35. 67, 83, 133, 221; v. pp. 25, 41. 106, 125, 152, 209, 214. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 8i 

in 1696.^^^ The administration was thus uniform throughout, 
the town acting only in an emergenc}', when a new condition 
arose in the path or when the old methods were becoming 
irksome. The method of raising the master's salary was the 
same from 1651 to 1685. The selectmen performed nothing out- 
side of their proper ministerial duties except when specifically 
instructed by the town. They never passed upon whether schools 
should be " kept " except when instructed, and they never deter- 
mined the manner in which the salary should be raised ; and their 
acts were reviewed at the annual town meeting as the first order 
of business. Clearly the people were in control of their schools. 

The permanent school committee, prominent in the period of 
the church town school, passed out of use within a few years 
after 1647.^^^ The only record of the existence of any in this 
period is furnished by Ipswich, where in 1652 nine men " were 
chosen a committee to receive all such sums of money as have 
or shall be given toward the building or maintaining of a grammar 
school and master." They were given full power not only over 
the securing and disposing of the money, but also in the election 
of the master, the fixing of the tuition fees, and all matters con- 
cerning the incidental regulations of the schools.^''^ The length 
of time that this committee lasted cannot be stated positively. 
These facts show, however, the decline of the school committee 
modelled after the English board of feoffees. 

The next step in the evolution of school control after that of 
control by the selectmen was control by the school committee 
as a strictly ministerial agency with definite powers. During 
this period both the selectmen and the town occasionally 
appointed temporary special committees to execute their will 
in a certain matter, the committees of the town displacing 
for the time being the selectmen, and the committees of the 
selectmen performing their acts in the name of all. The rea- 
son, presumably, for their appointment was the better or more 
economical execution of business. The selectmen may have 
been overburdened or some of the inhabitants may have in a 
particular instance, because of certain personal or business quali- 
ties or relationships, been better qualified to attend to the matter 

(1) Dedham Recs. V. pp. 98, 150. 164, 220, 240. 

(') Dorchester Recs., p. 304. Dedham Recs. III. pp 15, 135. 

(') Felt. Ipswich. Essex, and Hamilton, p. 83. 



82 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

in hand. Manifestly there were many executive details within 
the selectmen's affairs which required the attention of only one 
or two men, and these they divided up among themselves and 
reported back if necessary to the whole body. At the time of 
the establishment of the " moving- " or " divided " school none of 
the towns had established the school committee as a permanent 
institution.(^) 

Two laws passed by the General Court during this period re- 
quire mention, as they affected indirectly the relative functions 
of the town meeting and selectmen. 

In 1654, the General Court passed legislation for the towns 
in respect to the qualifications of those who taught in the schools 
of the colony — in the College and in the town and private 
schools. By this act the overseers of the college and the select- 
men of the towns were " commended " " not to admit or suffer 
any such to be continued in office or place of teaching, education, 
or instructing of youth or child in the college or schools that 
have manifested themselves unsound in the faith or scandalous 
in their lives, and not giving due satisfaction according to the 
rules of Christ." (-■> 

This act is directed to the selectmen: and probably for three 
reasons, (i) They were as the ministerial officers of the town 
or as its representative legislative body often entrusted with the 
duty of securing the master of the town school. (2) They 
constituted a definite group of individuals who could be held 
responsible by the colonial judiciary for the execution of the 
law. (3) It was their duty to look after the general interests 
of the town and thus to inquire into the private schools. But 
the act did not from the standpoint of the evolution of school 
control enlarge the functions of the selectmen, for they already 
possessed the power of determining the qualifications of the master 
in many towns from the beginning. It defined certain qualifica- 
tions which they must take into account in their exercise of 
this power and thus constituted the beginning of state super- 
vision of schools. It did, moreover, affect the evolution of 
control in one way — the selection of the teacher tended to re- 
main in the hands of the selectmen as an administrative, rather 
than as a legislative, function, but under the close supervision of 

(*) See S\izzalo, Rise of Local School Supervision in Mass., pp. 59-67 for discussion of 
development in detail. 

(2) Mass. Col.'Recs. IV. Pt. I. pp. 182-3. 



Control and Support of the Civil School. 83 

the town meeting. Later it strengthened the tendency toward 
the creation of the school committee. 

The law of 1692 while it held only the town as a corporate 
body responsible for the existence of schools and did not impose 
any specific duties upon the selectmen, yet they were required 
by the law to perform the acts prescribed for them by the town 
which they served. " And the selectmen and inhabitants of such 
towns, respectively [that is, towns of over fifty, and towns of 
over one hundred, families], shall take effectual care and make 
due provision for the settlement and maintenance of such school- 
master and masters."(i) Doubtless the reason for the specific 
mention of the selectmen in the law was the failure of the select- 
men of some of the towns to fulfill the duties expected of them 
by the town.(-> 

The act, however, does not require of the selectmen that they 
should secure its enforcement, but rather that they should per- 
form their functions as town officials, doing what they are in- 
structed to do by the town. Thus the relation between town 
meeting and selectmen is not disturbed by the law except in- 
directly, as the mere mention of the selectmen may have induced 
some towns to recognize the selectmen in greater measure. 

During this period the control of the school became firmly 
established in the people assembled in the town meeting. Control 
of a general and complete nature delegated to the selectmen or 
board of feoffees came to an end. The selectmen and special 
committees still performed administrative functions and a body 
of habits in this respect was developed in the different towns. 
It^ was the beginning of the formative period of American in- 
stitutions. In respect to schools the people had had sufficient 
experience in direct control to enable them to frame definite 
practices. In the next century, out of this experience there 
evolved the American school committee with its own peculiar 
characteristics. 

The period as a whole is to be characterized as one in which 
the people came to exercise direct control over their school in 
town meeting with a minimum of assistance from the selectmen. 
There was thus afforded a new basis for the creation of institu- 
tions. 

0) Province Laws I. p. 68 r. 

(2) The failure of the selectmen of Dorchester to secure a succossor to Mr Poole in vears 
previous may have caused the town to appoint a committee in i666 and in 1668— Dorches- 
ter Kecs. pp. 136, 145. 



CHAPTER V 
SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION 

The first settlers upon Massachusetts soil were bound closely 
and firmly together in a brotherhood of common suffering and 
courageous undertaking for religious principles. Among them 
selfish interests were subordinated to the general good, the chief 
element of which was the perpetuation of a society in which the 
enjoyment of their religious life and the dominance of their creed 
to the exclusion of all others could be secured. It was these 
first settlers that possessed the charters and set up the colonial 
government ; and they so fixed it that only those who could 
measure up to the religious qualifications could have any part 
in its administration. 

Not all those who came over after the first voyage were 
Puritans, although they were Englishmen. These were treated 
as aliens. In consequence even as early as 1638 it was necessary 
to pass laws which compelled outward conformance to the Puri- 
tan regime. All those who remained conformed to the prevailing 
scheme of society though they did not contribute to the active 
promotion of it. 

On the other hand. all. whether of their own number originally 
or of the alien portion of the population or of those seeking 
admission, who actively opposed the established institutions were 
persecuted even to the extent of banishment and death. They 
believed that only by these repressive and expulsive measures 
could the enjoyment and perpetuation of the true religious life 
be protected from the forces of the enemies that lurked on every 
side. 

To preserve this unity of thought and action it was necessary 
that the inward life as well as the outward acts should be closely 
watched. The details of this feature of the Puritan civilization 
are too well known to receive anything more than mere mention 
here. As Doyle ^^^ suggests the colony was a " Puritan Sparta 
ruled by an oligarchy of believers trained by a pitiless system 
of spiritual and theoretical discipline." This custom of espionage 

(1) Doyle, English Colonies in America, II p. igi. 



Social Disintegration. 85 

of the private life established by the first settlers was imposed 
by them upon all who were at variance with their standards. By 
these measures of protection, external and internal, as complete 
a unity of purpose and of life as is possible in a civil society 
was preservi-d so long as the first settlers were in control. 
Those who were not in active promotion of the system were 
either in general sympathy with it or did not actively oppose it. 

Religion being the chief object in the settlement, it not only 
became the strongest social tie that united the people into a 
social whole but it also practically excluded the literary and 
aesthetic interests. It absorbed the intellectual, dominated the 
political, and strongly affected the economic interests. The chief 
opportunity for social intercourse was in connection with the 
religious gatherings. The principal guide for conduct was the 
Bible. They were a people singularly devoted to religious ends, 
and every desire in life had to come under the purview of 
religious standards. 

The active leaders of this unified society were the ministers 
of the churches. They and the leading men of the church worked 
in harmony. The latter filled the offices in the central govern- 
ment and to a large extent in the towns as well. Above these 
the ministry constituted a court of appeal to which those ques- 
tions were referred which the civil officials did not feel compe- 
tent to determine. The ministers and higher officials were men 
of great abilities. The fact that they had the hardihood and 
courage to carry out so unusual a scheme as that of the settle- 
ment, that they possessed the diplomacy to secure a charter which 
they could adapt to circumstances and to their own peculiar 
theories later, and the skill with which this adoption was eflFected 
— all mark them as being among the ablest men of their time. 
The followers were of various degrees of consequence down to 
the indented servant. They really affected the current of colonial 
life very little, while in local government they played a varying 
part. 

An accotmt of the weakening of the bonds which held the 
people together belongs to general history. Only the principal 
events will be here mentioned, and in a manner denoting the 
rate of progress and extent of movement rather than the forces 
which propelled it. Necessarily the account is one of the dis- 
ruption of the church. 



86 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The Cambridge " Platform of Discipline " of 1648 expressed 
the highest realization of unity in the church state. A synod 
or council of churches could declare another church to be out 
of communion. Idolatry, blasphemy, and heresy either on the 
part of an individual or of a church were to be proceeded against 
by the civil government. " No sphere of church activity " was 
left " free from the possibility of interference by the civil 
power." This was approved by both local and civil government 
and by the church. <^) 

The first division in religious affairs expressed itself in the 
passage of the " Half Way Covenant " by the Synod of 1662. 
Many of the children of the first generation and many of the 
emigrants not of the strict Puritan faith, though baptized in in- 
fancy, had not conformed to the requirements for membership in 
the church and declined to do so. Their children were growing 
up " excluded from the Baptism of Christianity and from the 
Ecclesiastical Inspection which is to accompany that baptism."^''^ 
There grew up a party favoring the return to the old plan of 
admitting " all persons of regular life to full communion in the 
churches."^ ^^ The demand for a modified relationship of some 
sort was too strong to be resisted. The Synod chose the half-way 
measure, which allowed " baptized persons of moral life and 
orthodox belief to belong to the church so far as to receive 
baptism for their children and all privileges but that of the 
Lord's Supper for themselves." ^^^ This solution was designed 
to prevent " the churches from so lowering the terms of full 
communion as to admit unworthy persons to all privilege." ^^^ 

This act of the Synod indicates a loosening of the religious 
bonds — a weakening of the former rigor in preserving a unity 
of ideals and of life. In this movement most of the clergy par- 
ticipated, while its strongest opponents were found among the 
laymen of the first generation who were still living. It was a 
partial surrender to the enemy. And well might the ministry 
thus compromise, for even at this time a very large majority of 
the adult male population were not members of the church, and 
among them were some of strong ability and of undesirable in- 



(•) Osgood, The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century, I. pp. 214-5; Doyle. 
II. p. 73- 

(2) Cotton Mather quoted by Dexter, Congregationalism, p 467. 

(3) Ibid p. 469. 
(■*) Ibid p. 471. 
(5) Ibid p. 472. 



Social Disintegration. 87 

fluence in broad affairs/ ^^ This new spirit of toleration is wit- 
nessed also in the lessened severity in the persecvition of the 
Quakers and other sects, which reached its height just previous 
to this time. While it was destined to continue for some fifteen 
years more, the change in the tide is to be noted here.^^^ 

Both of these events favored the development of individuality 
and of diversity in the social ideals and practices. If the move- 
ment were permitted to continue, another basis for society than 
that which was originally established would have to be con- 
structed. The first few years of the sixties mark the time when 
the new tendency in the social life became sufficiently strong to 
appear upon the surface. 

From this time on the tendency grew apace. By 1670 the 
effects of the movement were visible on every hand and were 
thought by the faithful to be threatening the life of the colony. (^^ 
It was not only the dissensions that were growing up within 
the colony that alarmed them, however. In England, the Popish 
king had again come into power and was threatening the security 
of their rule. Parties became differentiated on both political 
and religious questions. One party favored opposition to the 
king on all questions, the other favored concessions in their 
political rights so long as material prosperity was not endangered. 
In the church controversy there were the parties of the Synodists 
and Anti-Synodists. those who opposed and those who favored 
the original church exclusiveness. How far they were identical 
it is not possible to determine. It is sufficient to note, however, 
that in each case there was the conservative and the moderate 
party and that the unity of the old regime was rapidly passing.^*' 

This division extended even to the ministry itself and from 
this time on there is increasing divergence in the rules and 
practices of the churches in the different towns. Indeed, the 
weight of the influence of the ministry as a whole favored the 
liberal tendency. This was most true of the pastors in the coast 
settlements, where they were influenced by the leading men and 
their business interests.^ ^^ 

On the other hand, while liberality of views on religious matters 
gained wider currency and toleration in the churches increased. 

(') Osgood states that up to or by 1684, only about one in five of the adult male popula- 
tion were freemen. The church membership could not have varied far from this. I. p. 212. 

(2) Doyle II. p. 114. Osgood I. pp. 285-7. 

(3) Dexter, p. 475. 

(') Doyle II. pp. igi-4. 

(*' Dexter, p. 474; Doyle, II. pp. 209-10. 



88 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

the form of church government became even more oligarchical 
than before. The ministry were as eager for authority as ever 
and the declining interest of the people in religion and the church 
permitted them to gain increasing power. There was thus af- 
forded the interesting contrast of increasing democracy in civil 
affairs and increasing oligarchy in church administration.^ ^^ 
Again, it was a reflection of the change in the dominance of 
church and state which came about during the eighth decade of 
the century. 

Another division of the people is to be noted. The coast 
towns were the centre of the moderate party in politics and the 
liberal party in religion ; while the inland towns were the homes 
of loyalty to the original form of colonial independence and of 
conservatism in upholding the old standards of religion, though 
they were weakening in regard to the standards of life.(-> 

The events which mark the progress of the changing life 
should now be noticed briefly. In 1670 the church of Boston 
became divided over the Half- Way Covenant. Part of the church 
seceded and established a new church — the Old South. The 
right to secede was denied and the civil government took up the 
question after the Elders had decided it in the affirmative. The 
strength of the opposition was in the Lower House. A com- 
mittee was appointed by it to inquire into " the prevailing evils 
which had brought God's displeasure upon the coutitry," as an 
indirect method of censuring the seceders. Among the chief 
causes given by the committee was " declension from primitive 
foundation work and innovation in doctrine and worship," and 
the seceders were abused in caustic scriptural terms. But this 
action, which was alike in all respects to those of the early days, 
did not meet with the approval of even the inland towns, so 
great had been the change from the life and spirit of their 
forefathers. Over one-half of the Deputies were not returned, 
and one of the first acts of their successors was to reverse their 
proceedings in declaring that they knew " no just cause for those 
scandalizing reflections cast upon Elders, Ministers, and 
Churches." The right of secession from a church without its 
consent was thus established, and the domination of the church 
over the religious interests and lives of the people correspondingly 



C^) Dexter, pp. 484-7. 

(^) Doyle, II. p. 194. Palfrey, III. pp. 350, 361, 368. 



Social Disintegration. 89 

diminished. It was, likewise, a recognition of the growth of lati- 
tudinarian views and of the existence of two parties in the 
Church, each of equal importance. Finally, the second action of 
the Deputies reveals the great change of sentiment that came over 
the entire colony. They still stood for their church, but also 
for tolerance and the right of the individuals to withdraw from 
a church compact of their own volition and enter into another 
which expressed more liberal principles. ^^^ All of these worked 
to still further break up the unity and to promote diversity of 
beliefs, interests, and acts. 

Doyle (^^ fixes the above as the turning point in the political 
and ecclesiastical history of Massachusetts. The events of the 
decade that these acts ushered in, indicate the transition beyond 
a doubt. It was then that the persecution of the other sects 
came to an end. This may be illustrated in the case of the 
Baptists. In 1672 the law banishing them was reprinted. In 
1679 ^ church was built in Boston and worship was begun 
therein. A law was soon passed taking it away from them, but 
the king intervened. The leading men of the church were after- 
wards called before the Court of Assistants but the only action 
taken was the nailing up of the house and the forbidding of the 
congregation to worship there longer. It was, however, opened 
by an unknown hand and worship was continued. The act of 
the General Court upon the matter when it came into session 
was to forgive the past but to forbid them meeting longer. The 
Baptists held services, however, in various parts of Massachusetts 
from that time on. This action was very mild as compared 
with that of twenty years previous. ^^^ 

The passage of the Half-Way Covenant had caused a marked 
decay in the morals and manners of the people. They had met 
great calamities in war. on the sea, from the elements, fire, 
and pestilence, and these were interpreted as divine judgments. 
The synod of 1679 was called to consider this condition of affairs 
and to recommend a course for future action. (■'^ It is the conclu- 
sions of the synod that are of concern as throwing light upon the 
temperament of the ministry of that day. The points dwelt 
upon are moral and not doctrinal, their recommendations are 



(>) Do vie, II. p. 193. 
(') Ibid II. p. 194. 



(') Backus, A Hist, of N. E. I, pi». 3S3-91 passim. 
(■•) Dexter, pp. 474. 478. 



go The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

along the line of building up the character of men more than 
of strengthening the position of the church. The church 
was to be used as an agency for the promotion of the best life 
of the individual but it was not conceived as being the dominant 
institution in the entire life of the people/^' The state instead 
of the church was dominant. And the people found their unity 
in a still wider diversity and in a unity of a far different nature. 
In 1684 the charter was annulled and the foundation of the 
support of the civil power in church affairs was cut from under 
the feet of the conservatives. In 1684 the Episcopal form of 
worship was instituted in Boston, and maintained from this 
time on. The influence of English officials and of English life 
in all its phases was a new source affecting the life and interests 
of all the people. <-* This promoted breadth and divergence of 
views, and was hostile to the old traditions. When in 1691 the 
new charter was secured, and from a Protestant king, the fears 
that had perplexed the staunch Puritan disappeared and they 
were content to recognize a still greater freedom in religious 
beliefs that were not Popish in character. ^^^ The experience 
of the people with witchcraft taught them that they must think 
for themselves and not follow the lead of their pastors in religious 
thought and moral action as they were still somewhat inclined 
to do up to this time.^*' This had its issue in the establishment 
of the Brattle Street Church through the leadership of William 
Brattle. He and his followers were the first who " deviating 
from the established standard of the Congregational Church 
government, yet succeeded in getting themselves recognized as 
an orthodox body."^'''^ By this time — 1700 — dissensions in the 
churches were not unusual and were often bitter. ^"^ At the 
same time in many churches the requirements for membership 
were much relaxed. Public confession of sins had long passed 
out of use and the private statement to the pastor was all that 
was ever required. Men of lax morals were admitted in some 
instances if they desired baptism for their children, and those in 
" half-way " relations were admitted to the highest sacrament. 
In some towns the Lord's Supper was proclaimed as a means of 



(■1") Dexter. pD. 476-80. Doyle II. pp. 209-10. 

(2) Tiffanv, C.— A Hist, of the Prot. Epis. Ch. in U. S., pp. 97-105 passim. 

(») Palfrey IV. p. .■;92. 

<*S Adams, Emancipation of Mass. p. 236. 

(5) Do vie II. p. 30^. 

(8) Ibid p. 377. Trumhull, Northampton II. p. 200 



Social Disintegration. 91 

regeneration and all men were urged to come to it. Members 
were admitted in wholesale fashion and with scant inquiry, state- 
ment, and ceremony. All useful distinctions between the church 
and the world were effaced. Add to this a more liberal and a 
less enthusiastic ministry who had come to have even a larger 
domination over the church as a whole, and the extent of its great 
fall from its previous high estate is seen. It was no more the 
dominant unifying force in society.^ ^^ 

The subordination of the church to the state — and a state 
in which the freeman and churchmembers were not identical, was 
fully effected at this time by the establishment of the province 
in 1692. From this time on the church was without the aid of 
its old powerful subordinate. While the ministry was supported 
by town tax as before, it was because a majority of the people 
willed it so — not because the church wished it. The unifying 
force had thus been altered. No longer was it possible to secure 
the calling of a synod or to get the government to aid in en- 
forcing a stricter ecclesiastical discipline. The church was com- 
pelled to rely upon its own resources alone. And its members 
from the influence of the past years were constantly becoming 
more independent in their thinking and in their assertion of 
control in church affairs. The writings of Wise, which stood for 
democratic Congregationalism, appeared during the early part 
of the century. They reflected the best thought along this line, 
and increased the growth of the freedom of thought, and thus 
promoted diversity in belief and religious tolerance. " Social 
autonomy " rather than " congregational consolidation " became 
the characteristic of the churches. ^-^ 

It was not long before other divergences in creed between 
the different Congregational churches was followed by the estab- 
lishment of churches of other denominations. This movement 
was promoted by the provisional laws. By the law of 1692 ^^^ 
each town was compelled to support an orthodox pastor who was 
elected by the church and approved by the town. In 1727 the 
Episcopalians were allowed to pay their assessments to their own 
clergymen and in the following year the same privilege was ex- 
tended to the Quakers and Baptists. <*) At this time, to estab- 



(1) Dexter, pp. 474-5; 481-2. 

(') Doyle II. p. 378. Walker, Hist, of Congregationalism in U. S., aog-io. 

(') Province Laws I. p. 162. 

(*) Walker, p. 232. Province Laws II. p. 494. 



92 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

lish another Congregational church, the consent of the town was 
necessary. This was impossible to obtain in many instances, while 
to found a Baptist church no consent was required. Hence many 
Baptist churches were founded because of differences arising 
within Congregational churches either upon doctrinal or adminis- 
trative grounds. 

All of these acts promoted democratic opinion and institutions, 
and the greatest variety of views. They contributed to the prom- 
inence of the individual and to the fullest exercise of his own 
selfish interests. The bonds holding society together were no 
longer any form of religious belief or ecclesiastical despotism. 
The old order had passed away completely. 

In its stead had come the purely civil society which existed 
for the promotion of the good of the individuals composing it, 
and not for the sake of the promotion of a peculiar life repre- 
sented in a single institution. The individual had gained free- 
dom of action in both private and public spheres. He was now 
at liberty to determine his actions within that broad limit of 
non-injury to others as fixed by laws, which he himself had a 
part in framing. This gradually increasing liberty had come in 
response to new interests and new wants, material, intellectual, 
social, and, on the whole, selfish. He was now ruled by com- 
mercial and wordly considerations as he saw them from his own 
point of view. Religion still had some hold on him, but not 
ecclesiasticism. This was subordinated to his own independent 
thinking. The regulation of society was the process of harmoni- 
zation of all these diverse interests and tendencies so as to con- 
serve the greatest good of all. The character of that process 
now demands our slight attention. 

Without the mastery of an all-inclusive ideal or object in 
society which bound all together and determined the plan of the 
individual life and the conduct of the state, there resulted in 
this augmented and widened democracy a divergence of interests 
which were intense and deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of 
their possessors. Dissensions and quarrels, bitter and prolonged 
were inevitable. ('^^ Each strove for all he could get. This 



(1) In Nnrthampton there was a division of the people into two parties known as the 
"court" and "country" parties composed of the chief men. those with wealth and author- 
ity in church and town, and those with less power, wealth and influence, respectively. 
(Trumbull's Northampton II. 36. ) Framingham's population was divided into eight 
groups in which blood relationship, former dwelling places, and topography figured as 
factors. (Temple, in Hist, of Middlesex Co. p. 440.) Dedham had bitter contests over 
town officers for several years in the early part of the eighteenth century. These examples 
are given as samples outside of quarrels regarding church affairs which were more numerous 



Social Disintegration. 93 

opposition promoted appeal to a careful endeavor to obtain exact 
justice for all. There was thus developed a keen sense of dis- 
crimination as to the rights of others, especially when those 
deciding the questions were disinterested, and a willingness to 
grant all that justice demanded. There were, however, many 
instances in which, behind the outward conformance with the legal 
decision, deep-seated animosities slumbered ready to break out 
again upon the slightest provocation. 

This disruption of unity was universal. Opposition existed 
between neighbors, between sections of the same town, between 
different towns, between different parts of the colony. Colonial 
unity was not a well formed conception. The inland towns were 
not in sympathy with the coast towns ; threatened danger to the 
shipping interests received only very slow response from them. 
Eastern and Western Massachusetts were separated as the At- 
lantic and Pacific states of the United States are today. In the 
towns each part wished equal benefits of the advantages afforded 
by the common funds. In a meagre settlement a division of these 
small returns would have nullified them to a large degree; dis- 
sensions were inevitable. Jealousy among individuals on ac- 
count of honors conferred, as in the seating of the church, or 
regarding privileges of common land, or any other benefit of the 
town, could not be avoided. Society was in a condition of ex- 
treme disintegration which extended to all phases of life, public 
and private ; disintegration in governmental institutions was the 
logical result. This, applied to administration of schools, brought 
about the moving school. 



CHAPTER VI 

DISPERSION OF POPULATION 

The General Court after the first few years maintained a close 
supervision over the settling of the inhabitants. Title to all the 
land within the borders of the colony existed primarily in it and 
land could be occupied only by virtue of specific grants to in- 
dividuals or groups of individuals. Grants of both kinds were 
made, though the latter were in the great majority. The Court 
went further in the regulation of settlements, however, than the 
issuing of title to land ; it fixed the manner in which the land 
should be distributed among the individuals in the group, and in 
doing this and other things it did not hesitate to interfere in the 
affairs of any town in any respect whenever it deemed fit.^^^ 

The form of settlement required was that which was assumed 
voluntarily in the earliest settlements. The land was held in 
common proprietorship by those to whom it was granted and by 
those who were admitted to equal rights by the original grantees 
or their successors. It was distributed among them according 
to the will of the majority. But in this distribution it was neces- 
sary that the house lots be separated from the tillage and pasture 
land, and be grouped together in compact fashion. Beyond this 
central core lay the farming and grazing land, held in common 
or individual proprietorship. The core contained the church 
and, when there was one, the school house as well. It was 
located usually on a stream the valley of which offered the most 
fertile of the poor land which the colony afforded. Outside the 
appropriated land of each settlement lay the untamed forest 
wilderness. The desire for land was great and the amounts 
granted to these quasi-corporations was almost always far above 
the amount that could be utilized. As a result the towns were 
separated from each other by broad bands of forests, through 
which only faint paths ran, connecting the settlements. 

This compact form of settlement was chosen and insisted upon 
for various reasons. Their fear of the savages, doubtless, was a 
compelling reason in the first few years. Then, too, their com- 

(') Osgood I. pp. 429-34. 



Dispersion of Population. 95 

mon privation and sufferings, and the strong demand for co- 
operation in the building of the houses and the providing of food 
and clothing, also promoted it. Finally, the large part that religion 
played in their lives made close settlements desirable by the church 
members, and the maintenance of their established form and char- 
acter of society required it. The law which gave expression to 
their convictions along this line was passed in September 1635 
and amended the following year. According to this no " dwelling 
house " should " be built above one-half mile from the meeting 
house" in any town in the colony. ^^^ 

While it is certain that tliis half-mile limit was not closely 
observed in all the towns (for these acts were repealed as early 
as 1640) <-^ yet it is equally true that the "village mark" did 
prevail in all of them, but with slightly extended borders. In 
1639 the General Court ordered that the weekly lecture in its 
churches should close sufficiently early to permit those who lived 
a " mile or two off " to get home by daylight.^^^ This rule was 
intended most probably, however, to benefit the people of only a 
few towns — those most scattered. The laws enforcing atten- 
dance at church worship were of such a nature as to make 
dwelling near to the church very desirable^*^ and this operated 
upon the individual settler. The town corporation as the owner 
of the land was during the first decades enthusiastically ortho- 
dox and, doubtless, it took care of the recalcitrant members 
who wished to settle beyond the pale. An instance of this 
which is, probably, quite typical of many not recorded, is fur- 
nished in Ipswich in 1661. Here a man's land was sold by the 
" seven men " because the distance of his home from the meeting 
house had caused him to absent himself from its services, " in 
order that living nearer the meeting house he might more con- 
veniently attend public worship," and this act was approved or 
directed by the General Court. ^^^ 

It was in this compact form of settlement that the church-town 
school spent its entire existence, and in which the civil school 
had its birth as well. But with the changing social order and 
the alterations in ideals which accompanied it, combined with 

(1) Mass. Recs. I. pp. 157. 181. 

O Ibid I. p. 291. Watertown Recs, I. p. 4. Dovle II. p. 14. 

C) Felt, Eccle. Hist. I. p. 387. 

(■<) Mass. Recs. II. p. 118. 

(*) Hist, of Essex Co., p. 204. 



96 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

changes in external conditions, the core was dispersed and the 
dwelling houses were located upon the outlying farm lands.' The 
reasons for this and the progress and extent of the movement 
must now be considered briefly. 

All of the forces which caused close settlement at the begin- 
ning were losing their strength. The edge of their emotion 
consequent upon the character of their undertaking was being 
dulled by the experiences of time. Religious fervor was dam- 
pened by the many difficulties encountered in gaining subsis- 
tence. Their unity of life was weakening to the extent that the 
individual interests were receiving additional consideration in the 
determination of affairs. And the fear of the Indian was lessening 
with intimate acquaintance. Added to these modifications in the 
attitude of the original colonists, which, although comparatively 
slight at first, grew from year to year and generation to genera- 
tion, was the increase in population. 

The influence of this latter factor working with those above 
was to cause the granting to individuals of more and more of the 
unappropriated farming and grazing land. These later grants 
were at a greater distance from the centre necessarily, and thus 
the weight of the argument of convenience of dwelling house to 
farm received increased support. This process was carried on 
until all the land had been taken up in the original town which, 
under the limitations imposed by the town as to residence, could 
"be worked with a fair return. ,When this point was reached, 
the establishment of new settlements came tc be considered and 
additional factors entered into the problem. 

These new factors were the quality of the land just beyond 
the limit of appropriated land as compared with the land in the 
other prospective centers, and the ties of family, kindred, and 
friendship. If at the time of the maturing of the new generations 
the quality of the land was poor, then the question resolved itself 
into whether these ties should be broken by the departure of 
one, or whether they should be maintained by the one remaining 
to his disadvantage or by the departure of all. If the quality 
of the land was good in the new centres, these personal and selfish 
considerations struggled with the declining spirit of the old 
regime until they triumphed. 

But the establishment of new centres involved other considera- 
tions than the mere quality of its land. The distance from 



Dispersion of Population. 97 

market, from friends and relatives, and the dangers of the wilder- 
ness and from Indians were all of weight. Also, there was a 
limit set in various stages of Massachusetts history to the frontier 
settlements. Finally, the General Court took care in the granting 
of its land that the interests of the colony as a whole as well as 
of the petitioners for the new grant should be secured. It can- 
vassed the situation thoroughly and passed upon the questions of 
the grant with reference to the effect of their act both upon the 
old and upon the prospective settlements. 

All of these elements taken together as determined by the 
individuals, town, and the General Court, influenced the spread 
of the population. Up to the second decade of the eighteenth 
century it can be differentiated into two general stages, the first 
closing with about the year 1660 and marked by the restricted 
settlement and the dominance of the interests of the group, the 
second, beginning at about that date, characterized by a gradual 
dispersion of the settlements and the dominance of individual 
and economic interests. 

The passage and repeal of the law fixing the limit of dwelling 
house at one-half mile from the meeting house and the laws 
compelling attendance at church worship have already been 
noticed. Also, the drastic action taken by the towns and the 
courts have been illustrated by a typical act. By these the first 
period is clearly characterized. Those conditions which fix the 
close of this period at about this time are: 

( I ) The ceasing of efforts to penetrate further into the wilder- 
ness in the establishment of new centers. The towns on the 
outermost limits of population in 1650 in the eastern counties of 
Massachusetts Bay Colony were Salisbury, Haverhill, Andover, 
Chelmsford, Groton, Marlboro, Concord, Sudbury, and Medfield. 
In 1679 the towns named as frontier towns by the General Court 
were substantially the same.^^^ Salisbury was omitted because 
Exeter was north of her ; Groton because it had been destroyed ; 
none were added. The list in 1700, besides the isolated settle- 
ments of Mendon and Lancaster and the towns on the Connecti- 
cut river, contained substantially the same towns as these and 
none farther removed from the coast. ^^^ The increase in the 
population must have been provided for, therefore, either by an 

(1) Mass. Col. Recs. V. p. 79. 

(2) Prov. Recs. I. p. 402. 



98 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

extension from the centre of the hmit of dwelhng houses and of 
farms in the towns already settled or by a removal of the people 
to new towns along or within the borders of the frontier. These 
latter were, evidently, less desirable tracts and so the tendency to 
expand within the town intensified/^^ 

(2) The number of towns settled diminished considerably. 
Taking the territory of the original Massachusetts colony, the 
settlement of new towns began to fall ofif as early as 1650, but 
with a still greater decline after 1660. This decline continued 
until 1710 when there was a very great increase in the number 
of towns founded. Up to 1650 thirty towns had been founded, an 
average of seven and a half to each period of five years. During 
the first and second half of the sixth decade there were two and 
five respectively. In the succeeding five year periods to 1680 
there were three, one, five, four. Two of these four were settled 
before the opening of King Philip's war. After 1679 the 
numbers for each five year period to 1710 were two, none, three, 
none, one, one. To be sure, this was likewise the period during 
which there was the least increase of population, but up to 1675 
the natural increase must have been considerable, for early mar- 
riages and large families were universal, though in fact mortality 
was high ; and the children when they reached the age of twenty 
or thereabouts had to be provided with farms. The small number 
of new towns founded between 1660 and the breaking out of the 
war — a total of eleven — is not sufficient to provide for the 
normal increase of a population which contained possibly thirty 
thousand in 1660 and fifty thousand in I700,(-' provided the 
manner of settlement remained the same. For these nine towns 
did not at a liberal estimate contain more than an average of 
forty householders. The increase in population must have caused 
therefore an extension in the radius of settlement in the oldtr 
towns. 

(3) The social reconstruction which was just coming to the 
surface at this time in the passage of the Half- Way Covenant, in 
the diminution in the severity of the punishment of Quakers, in 
the rising democracy, undoubtedly afifected the minds of all and 

(1) This failure to push farther out at this time shows in itself a diminution in the relig- 
ious-social ardor that had characterized the original settlers. Had it been preserved 
unaffected by selfish economic interests, the line of settlement would have pushed out 
gradually and uniformly, each town being of that extent that would have afforded the 
proner condition for the cultivation of the religious life. 

C^'* Adams, Three Episodes of M. Hist. II. p. 671. Doyle II. p. 386. Palfrey IV. pp. 
135-6. 



Dispersion of Population. > 99 

made it easier for the farmer to follow more and more his own 
selfish interests. The towns would at least be less averse to fix- 
ing a limit and of enforcing penalties against its infraction, if 
such existed. The General Court took no action directly. Its 
laws against non-church attendance must have received, in the 
changing spirit of the community, more laxity in their adminis- 
tration. 

(4) The year 1661 marks also the last effort on the part of an 
organized body as a church or town to establish a new settle- 
ment. The earlier mode of settlement was most frequently by 
congregations, or large parts of congregations. Towns had taken 
the initiative in this matter as well, — Salem in 1639 and in 
1643, ^^^ Salisbury in 1645, ^'^ Cambridge regulated its village 
at Lexington until 1640.^^) Initiative from individuals, either in 
large groups or small, was the rule thereafter until 1661, when 
Dedham attempted to establish a village on its own land at a 
point which later became Wrentham.^*) The old group-congre- 
gational bond of union seemed no longer to be effective. The 
interests of the individual were paramount. Eight men and their 
families went of their own accord and twelve years later there 
was a sufficient number for them to have a form of local govern- 
ment for themselves. But the settlement was built up by a process 
of slow accretion. 

These four considerations indicate the abandonment of the old 
idea concerning methods of settlement and the dominance of the 
interests of the individual causing scattered settlements. 

While up to about 1660 the size of a community seems to have 
been largely influenced by considerations of the religious welfare 
of the group, after that date this became of minor importance, 
and the settlements took into large account the welfare of the 
individuals composing them. Undoubtedly, this gradual expan- 
sion of the old towns and the settlement of the new would have 
progressed steadily had it not been for King Philip's War and 
the French and Indian Wars, which followed after them in the 
last decade of the seventeenth and the first decade of the eigh- 
teenth centuries. The effect of these wars was to drive in the 
inhabitants from some of the frontier towns and to check the 

(') Hist, of Essex Co. I. p. 414. 

m Ibid p. 411. 

(') Hist, of Middlesex Co. II. p. 13. 

(*) Worthington, Dedham, p. 23. 



100 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

impulse in the more courageous to penetrate the wilderness in 
quest of better lands. Sad to relate, five or six thousand of young- 
men were killed in battle, many of whom would probably have 
become the head of a large family, and thus the normal increase 
in population was prevented/ ^^ 

Upon the form of settlement these wars had two opposite 
effects, according to whether the town was exposed to danger or 
whether it was secure. Because of the increased danger the 
people were inclined to take up farms of poorer quality in the 
least exposed towns, thus expanding the circumference of settle- 
ment. To^vns on the border were compelled by the General 
Court, in language which suggests the liberty that men had 
previously been taking in determining their place of settlement, 
to restrict their settlements to closer bounds. This act provided 
" that no deserted town or new plantation shall be inhabited 
until the people first make application to the Governor and 
Council." The form of settlement was to be fixed by a committee 
appointed for the purpose and in the planning of it " they are 
required to have a principal respect to nearness and convenience 
of habitation for uniting against enemies, and more comfort for 
Christian communion and enjoyment of God's worship, and 
education of children in schools, and civility with other good 
ends."(2) 

Some of the towns in the interior still endeavored to limit the 
distance of the dwelling houses. Thus Dedham in 1682 placed 
the limit at two miles. (=*> But this does not seem to have been 
successful for by the end of the century the original village was 
occupied but by a few farmers and the farm houses were scattered 
widely over the town. 

The town records, the church records, and the colonial records 
bear repeated and continual reference to the spread of population 
within the town. New congregations were organized within the 
towns, and the proper civil government for administering them 

(') Hutchinson II. p. 183. 

(}) Mass. Col. Recs. V. p. 214. The border towns even to 1725 were compelled as a 
i«sans of protection to keep their dwelling houses near each other. Many of these towns 
probably did not maintain schools regularly, however. And so long as thev remained 
compact they were in the same period of development respecting schools as the original 
settlements. When the dangers from Indians were removed they spread out rapidly and 
the school soon followed. From the standpoint of development of schools this class of 
towns were in the small minority. Trumbull, Northampton II. pp. 38, 15-32, 98, Weeden, 
Soc. and Ec. Hist. I. 271; Worcester Recs. II. 9-39. 

(') Worthington, Dedham, p. 15. Mervin, Dedham, p. $5. 



Dispersion of Population. loi 

established. This subject will be more fully treated in Chapter 
eight, to which the reader is referred. 

It remains here to discuss the form which this expansion took. 
There was no uniformity. The course followed depended first 
upon the natural advantages offered, and second upon the vast 
complexity of motives in the individuals who desired more 
lands. When the land was divided by lot another set of 
factors entered in to influence the location of the dwelling houses 
of the different settlers. Quality of soil, accessibility to the vil- 
lage, nearness to neighbors or to other members of the family, 
were all prominent factors in the process. The irregular dis- 
tribution of the better land and the topography of the country 
often caused the settlements to extend radially within narrow 
limits and in a few main directions from the centre. In some 
towns a new and smaller village was formed in a distant part 
of the town. While in some instances the form of settlement 
was compact and roughly circular in type, yet in others it is to 
be compared more to a nerve centre with its accompanying nerves. 

Thus the same town presented an appearance in the early 
eighteenth century far different from that in the middle seven- 
teenth century. At the earlier time, it was an oasis in a forest 
desert which was difficult to penetrate ; at the later time, although 
much of the land was still untilled, yet comparatively little of it 
in the older settlements was unused. The concentrated popula- 
tion about the single church had dispersed until it was scattered 
over much of the town's territory. Smaller sub-groups of popula- 
tion were forming within the different towns, set off to them- 
selves by a range of hills, by a stream, or by mere distance from 
the centre. These were developing their own common interests 
and in many cases a second church was erected within the town. 
Likewise in administration of civil affairs districts were erected 
for greater economy and convenience.^^^ 

The influence of this changed method of settlement upon the 
creation of the moving school is apparent. It made it more 
difficult for the head of the household to attend town meetings 
several times a year, and for the family to go to public worship 
on Sunday, but many times more difficult upon the days inter- 
vening for the children to go to the town school in the centre. 

(1) See Chapter VIII. 



102 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

Hence this factor produced a necessity for a new adaptation of 
means to end. 

The difficulty — the practical impossibility of children traveling 
far to school is appreciated more fully, however, when the 
severity of the winters, the spring floods, the extent of forests, 
the poor character of the woods, and the barriers presented by 
the swamps, fords, lakes, streams and high hills are pointed 
out.(i) 

For the first points mere mention will suffice. The hardships 
endured by the colonists in the winter season are well known to 
all; the spring floods did not differ from the floods of today. 
The amount of land covered and the duration of the floods may 
be judged from the fact that at the present time in Essex County 
one acre out of every two hundred and seven is " fresh water 
meadow covered by water in spring," and for that reason is 
exempted from taxation by the state. ^-> Originally, the entire 
land was covered with forests excepting along those streams 
which afforded meadow. It was upon these streams that the 
centre of the settlement was usually placed, near a spring upon 
a sandy spot which was unfit for cultivation. (^) The amount 
of forest varied in different towns, but in many the dwelling 
houses outside the centre were placed in the midst of 
forests. It was because of this that the Indians were able to 
steal upon a household without being detected. This occurred 
several times about the beginning of the century. Wolves and 
wild cats infested the country. The greatest number of wolves 
was killed in the last years of the seventeenth century — about 
three hundred per year in the entire state, and after that time 
about one hundred per year to 1738. Two thousand two hun- 
dred wild cats were killed within seven years in the second quar- 
ter of the century. Besides these, bears and catamounts were 
occasionally seen and shot.^*^ 

Water furnished the chief means of communication at first, 
and roads in the town led to the stream upon which the settle- 
ment was made or to the ocean. In 1639 the General Court 
ordered highways to be laid out connecting all towns along the 

(>) These same facts show the necessity for extension of settlements radially and its 
impossibility by concentric circles. 

(') Sears, Geology of Essex County, p. 394. 

(3) Ibid p. 23. 

('') Judd. Hist, of Hadley, p. 352. Hanson, Hist, of Danvers, p. 38. 



Dispersion of Population. 103 

coast/ ^^ Towns themselves took the initiative in laying out roads 
to adjoining towns with which there was some common interest, 
commercial or otherwise. By 1700 these main thoroughfares 
had become fairly well established although travel by coaches had 
not yet begun/ -^ Within the towns themselves roads to the 
centre from the principal groups of settlements, and likewise to 
the mill had succeeded paths connecting farm to farm/^^ Aside 
from these main roads other ways were probably in most cases 
undefined and ofttimes on private land. If marked out, they 
shared the fate which often befell the most prominent road, of 
being ungraded and almost uncared for. Travel at its best was 
upon horseback, though horses were rather scarce and not well 
bred. For the pedestrian and rider nothing more than the bridle 
path was needed. For heavy articles the best means of trans- 
portation was the heavy ox-cart. As there was comparatively 
little carrying of goods to market at that time, there was not a 
demand for good roads. A stump or a stone was not an im- 
pediment, and the width of the road, often ten rods, permitted the 
finding of a path through the trees or around a muddy place. 
They were not laid according to any system. Sometimes the 
court complained " they are felt too straight and in other places 
travelers are forced to go far about." Ferries and bridges over 
some of the larger streams on the principal roads were common, 
but the smaller streams in the case of less important roads had 
as yet to be forded. It was not an unusual thing for the road 
between two places to be nearly twice as long as it is today. (*) 
But these difficulties are not appreciated until a thorough study 
is made of the topography of the country. Not until then is it 
seen that of necessity the population must have been scattered 
and communication difficult. The wonder is that the people were 
able to cope successfully with the situation. Essex County is 
taken as an example. In topographical features it is typical of 
all of the territory at that time settled in Eastern Massachusetts. 
This county is irregular in outline but in general conforms to a 
square with its sides at an angle of 45° with the lines connecting 
the main points of the compass. Its territory exclusive of the 



(1) Mass. Col. Recs. I. p. 280. 

(2) Weedon, pp. 113, 311, 409, 509, 510. 

(') Currier, Newbury, p. 415. Judd, Hadley, p. 375. 

(*) Torrey, Fitchburg, p. 42. Mass. Col. Recs. I. p. 280. Marvin, Lancaster, pp. 65-70; 
Trumbull's Northampton I. p. 165. 



104 ^^^ Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

tidal rivers and bays is equivalent to that of fifteen congressional 
townships. Thus it corresponds roughly in size to many western 
counties four townships square. Carrying out the analogy, its 
sixteen thousand five hundred acres of peat swamps, which vary 
in depth from six to fifteen feet,^^) if evenly distributed, would 
make for each township an area of one thousand one hundred 
acres or one and three-quarter sections out of thirty-six in an 
entire township. In fact the swamp land is distributed quite 
generally over the entire county and, with the exception ot the 
great Wenham swamp, in a fairly even manner. In size and shape 
there is the greatest variety. Many of them are long and narrow, 
others wide and broad. In addition to these swamps there are 
many lakes and fords. Sears in his Geology of Essex County ^^^ 
says that there are eighty which are worthy of notice and then 
gives a list of sixty varying in size from three to four hundred 
acres (three estimated). The size of the median lake is forty- 
two acres and there are a sufficient number clustered about this 
point in the distribution to permit us to call it a modal point as 
well, although there are ten of them of either eighteen or twenty 
acres and five which cover sixty acres. The limits of the second 
and third quartiles of the distribution are twenty acres and sixty 
acres. Were the total lake surface evenly divided between 
the fifteen townships, each would have two hundred and seventy- 
eight acres covered with lake or pond water — almost a half 
section. If the number of lakes were evenly distributed, each 
township would have five or six. Besides these two geographical 
features taking up land which might otherwise be cultivated, and 
badly interfering with communication between the dififerent parts 
of the country, is another which operates in both these points only 
partially. The fresh-water meadows, if distributed evenly among 
the fifteen townships, would make one thousand one hundred 
acres, or one and three-fourths sections for each. These three 
features taken together would make for each township a total of 
two thousand four hundred and seventy-eight acres or three and 
seven-eighths sections — almost one-ninth of the territory. In ad- 
dition, setting up a barrier to communication at every point met, 
are seven " extended " streams. (^^ Emptying into them or into 
the ocean are, also, twelve smaller " consequent " streams, along 

(1) Sears, p. 394. 

(') Pp. 400-2. 

(^) Ibid. pp. 394, 27-34. 



Dispersion of Population. 105 

some of which are the fresh water meadows. One of the former, 
the Merrimac, runs along one side of the irregular square 
and forms a basin in the northwest part of the county. The other 
streams take their origin from a point south of this and in the 
north part of the county and flow toward the ocean to the east 
and southeast. There is thus formed a close network of streams 
over the whole county. 

The last natural feature aflfecting the course of settlement was 
the hills. Along the seacoast as far north as Essex there is a 
range of hills that are quite close together, steep though not high. 
Another range in the northwest part constitutes the watershed. 
Besides these there are one hundred and ninety-three drumhns 
and nineteen bedrock hills scattered over the county. These 
stand out, in general, singly, rising in many instances abruptly 
to a distance varying from forty to three hundred feet above the 
level of the surrounding country, the distribution of the middle 
quartiles lying between one hundred and one hundred and sixty 
feet.(^> Their bases vary in shape from that of an elongated 
ellipse to a circle. The distance along the longest diameter 
varies from one-half to one and one-half miles, and along the 
shortest from one-quarter to three-quarter miles.^^^ The median 
diameters are probably close to five-eighths miles and three- 
eighths miles respectively. They are distributed quite evenly over 
that part of the country north of the range of hills along the 
southern seacoast except in the south part of the present town of 
Boxford, which is near the centre of the county. This territory 
approximates in size twelve congressional townships. Thus there 
are on the average seventeen hills to each township and one to 
almost every two square miles. 

Careful thought upon the above statements will enable the 
reader to construct in imagination a topographical map of the 
county. The frequency and even distribution of streams and 
hills over the entire county, of lakes over all except the peninsula 
of old Newbury, and of swamps over all except the Merrimac 
region, and the manner in which all are intermingled is striking. 
The country as a whole is low, the highest point being only four 
hundred feet above sea level and this on a hill which is two hun- 
dred feet above the general level of the surrounding country. 



(1) Sears, pp. 3QS-S. 

(') Ibid, Geological Map. 



io6 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The topographical map presents a picture of hills set here and 
there, usually singly, although there are several ranges and 
groups, upon a low level country, and interlaced with small and 
large streams, lakes, and swamps. There is not a point in the 
country more than three miles away from a river or lake or 
swamp, and, excepting the territory in modern Salisbury and 
ancient Newbury, there is not a point two miles distant from one 
of these hindrances to communication ; and, frequently, two or 
three of them, and even all, are within this limit. The plain in 
Newberry, which is triangular in form having a base and altitude 
of six miles each, and the rectangular plain in Boxford four by 
two and one-half miles, are the largest surfaces presenting no 
obstruction to travel. 

Thus the peculiar topography of the country scattered the 
population, increased the distance because of necessary detours, 
and multiplied the hindrances to easy communication between the 
different parts of the towns. The pressing demands of earning 
a livelihood from the infertile soil prevented attempts at over- 
coming the difficulties. The climate and the dangers of the 
wilderness added their shares to the grievous task of going from 
place to place. 

The conclusion is patent, that after the land was well settled 
the central school was very difficult and often impossible of access 
during part of the year. For those in the distant sections to 
share equally in the privileges of the town school with those in 
the centre, it was necessary that it be placed in the outlying parts 
of the town. 



CHAPTER VII 

INTELLECTUAL DECLINE 

The same struggle between religious and economic interests, 
which by the triumph of the latter produced social disintegration 
and dispersion of population, caused also a marked alteration in 
educational ideals. 

Early Puritanism demanded for the welfare of the individual 
and for the perpetuation of the church-state high intellectual 
standards ; on the other hand, the hard struggles to gain a live- 
lihood and the accumulation of the comforts of life required at its 
best but a small portion of the learning given in the schools. 
Therefore, as religion became increasingly formal and as the state 
gained the mastery over the church, the people failed to respond 
to the former sanctions for educating their children and were 
governed more by economic considerations ; consequently, there 
was a decided lowering in the amount and quality of instruction 
given. This decline, was due also, in part to the difficulties en- 
countered by a pioneer people, and to the disturbed condition of 
affairs on account of the wars. 

The moving school appears at the point when, educational in- 
terests having reached their lowest ebb, the people became con- 
scious of the deplorable state of affairs and attempted to better 
their conditions. 

This decline in the interest in education and its changing 
character need now to be traced. As a background, all that which 
has been stated in the previous two chapters concerning the 
decline in religion and morals, the parallel rise in economic 
motives, and the character of the difficulties which the environ- 
ment offered to the colonists in the efforts towards its subjuga- 
tion, must be kept in mind. 

The laws of 1642 and 1647 were in response to a fear that 
education was not receiving proper consideration in the towns. 
The economic difficulties incident to the ceasing of immigration 
and the consequent fall of values and disruption of trade, coupled 
with the departure of some of the colonists and many of the 



io8 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

ministry, were the chief causes of their passage. ^^'^ The " Decla- 
ration concerning the Advancement of Learning " in 1652 reflects 
the fears of the leaders for the future in the point of a sufficient 
number of educated persons to continue the life of the colony as 
it was then constituted.^-^ That all the towns did not obey the 
law as to maintenance of a school is evidenced by the fact that 
fines were imposed; ^^^ that others maintained the kind of school 
required by law in order to escape the fine and not because the 
inhabitants wanted that kind of a school is likewise evidenced in 
the language of the town records. <*) Thus it was difficult even 
during the first years of the civil school while the original pur- 
poses in the establishment of the colony still prevailed above all 
other considerations, and before the population had begun to 
disperse widely from the original village, for the people to main- 
tain schools of the standard thought necessary to sustain the 
prevailing order. This was due, undoubtedly, to the changing 
attitude of the people already manifested in religion and to the 
increasing weight of material arguments. 

The decline from this time on is difficult to trace. In 1671 
the General Court doubled the amount of the fine on towns for 
not maintaining a grammer school, ^^^ and in 1683 increased it 
to twenty pounds on towns of over two hundred householders.^^) 
One of the evils which, according to the Act of the Synod of 
1670, had brought God's disfavor upon them was " a lamentable 
lack of public spirit, causing schools of learning and other such 
common interests to languish, and raising murmurs as to philan- 
thropic expenditures."^'^) The election sermons before the General 
Court in the year 1672 and for many years thereafter complain 
likewise of the want of schools.^®) These facts establish a general 
opposition to the maintenance of the grammar school, even though 
by this time its curriculum had become so modified that in the 
inland towns it was chiefly a reading and writing school. (°) 

The low estate to which education had fallen in the last quarter 
of the century may be indicated by the school history of two 



(1) Eggleston, Transit of Civilization, p. 229. Weeden, I. pp. 165-6. 

(2) Mass. Col. Recs. IV, Pt. I. pp. loo-i. 
(') Currier. Newbury, p. 396. 

(■•) Watertown Recs. p. 21. 

(S) Mass. Col. Recs. IV. Pt. II. p. 486. 

(«) Ibid v. p. 414. 

(') Dexter, Congregationalism p. 478. 

(') Felt, Ipswich, p. 433. , 

(•) See later paragraph. 



Intellectual Decline. 109 

towns whose printed records are complete for the period, and 
which represent fairly the condition which prevailed in probably 
a large majority of the inland towns. (^^ 

The records of Dedham and Watertown reveal entire absence 
•of schools during some years, a school of shorter term than that 
required by law in some of the years when it was maintained, 
and lack of interest in education during the entire time. Ded- 
ham maintained a school of annual sessions continuously up to 
1673. This year the records make no mention of the school, 
and, according to the town's historian, the town was fined the 
following year by the colonial court.(-) In 1674 the school was 
maintained for but one-quarter of the year. During part of 
the time between 1676 and 1678 there was probably no school, 
for the power to decide whether there should be a school was in 
1676 delegated to the selectmen and there is no mention of a 
school until 1678. This interruption was due largely to the war, 
and for that reason seems to have been disregarded by the court. 
During the years 1685 to 1690 there seems to have been a failure 
to support a school for part of or all that time.^^) As a result 
the town was again fined in i69i.(*) Again in 1692 it seems 
quite probable there was no school, though there is no record of 
the imposition of a fine.(^) The school was kept but for one 
half the year in 1679, i68t, 1691, and 1701, for but one quarter 
in 1693, and for but two months in i690.(<') The action of the 
town in 1685 in ordering the schoolmaster "to desist and leave 
off keeping school at the end of the present half year" not 
only indicates the lack of a school for a part of the time, but also 
probably a custom of having half-year sessions. For the same 
master had kept the school since 1681 when the session was for a 
lialf year and the intervening records do not tell the length of 
the terms. (^) 

Watertown likewise maintained a continuous annual school up 
to i686.(^) The records for the next few years indicate failure to 
provide for a school during a part of the term. The town then 

(1) As to the extent of this indifference to education it is impossible to get ab- 
^pwI^I t^^^- . T^u^ ^^""1 been general however, as judged by the contemporaneous 
references the acts of the courts and the later low state of education among adults. 

)Vs ?^-^^^r^ ^^"- ^^- P- "'= ^- P- 25: Worthington, Dedham. p. 55. 

) <' J,9'd v. pp. 25. 39. 103, 159-209, passim. 

(.*) Worthington's Dedham, p. 55. 

(5) Dedham Recs. IV, pp. 214-22, passim. 

f) Ibid v. pp, 87, 106; 214, 287, 222, 209. 

([) Ibid V. pp. IS9, 137, 153. 

<s) Watertown Recs. II. pp. 26-39 passim. 



no The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

in 1696 voted to " keep " a school " according to law." In 1696 
the town sent a committee to the Court of Quarter Sessions " to 
pray the Court not to impose a fine on the town ; and to inform 
the Court it is hopeful that the town will be provided with a 
school before the next quarter session," The records indicate 
there was no school again in 1698 and, in consequence, in 1700 the 
town appointed a committee of four " to apply themselves to the 
quarter sessions to pray for the abatement of the fine that was set 
on the town for want of a school according to law."<^^) Water- 
town, as Dedham, seems to have had a school for but part of the 
year at various times, in 1686 and 1704.^-^ The judges of the 
Court seem in all these instances to have been lenient in not re- 
quiring the full letter of the law. 

The town records of other towns fix the end of the school 
term at a specified time which was not a full year from the com- 
mencement of the school. ^'^ This seems likewise to have been 
satisfactory. And, indeed, it is not to be w^ondered at that in 
the condition of affairs the judges were lax or that the members 
of the grand jury failed to discover or report infractions of the 
law. 

The lack of interest in schools is revealed in other ways than 
by reference to the customary time which the schools were main- 
tained. Watertown, which since 1667 had been supporting its 
school wholly by the town rate, would not in 1690 do anything 
more than grant fifteen pounds toward a master's mainte- 
nance. A company of twenty persons then guaranteed a sum 
of ten pounds additional and the master was secured. <^*^ This 
shows general apathy among the many, and commendable interest 
among the few. Seven years later at a town meeting it was 
voted in spite of the law not to have a grammar school, but within 
a month, probably because of the presence of others in the second 
meeting, this action was rescinded. ^^^ The act reveals the tem- 
per of the people. As a whole they did not want schools and 
they would pay no more in the town rate than was absolutely 
necessary to escape the fine, for it was an expenditure of money 
with no return. They would oftentimes prefer to take their 
chances, hoping not to be reported to the Court, but in that event, 

(1) Watertown Recs. II. pp. 108, 132. 

(*) Ibid I. pp. 26, 152. 

(3) Currier's Newbury, p. 3q6; Plymouth Recs. pp. 99, 246, 270. 

(*) Watertown Recs. II. p 63. 

(6) Ibid II. p. no. 



Intellectual Decline. iii 

and also in case of the fine having been imposed, they would 
present every excuse that they could think of to escape the actual 
payment of the money. 

The dishonorable artifices practiced by the people of Woburn 
to get around the difficulty presented by the provincial law is 
of interest in showing the opposition of the people to schools. In 
1703-4 they employed a Mr. Bradstreet of Andover who came 
and was " personally at Woburn at the time of Charlestown 
court " to receive all children who came to him for instruction. 
But, as it happened, no children appeared, and he returned home. 
For this trip he received his expenses and " eighteen shillings in 
silver for a gratuity." This was a less amount than a fine, and the 
school committee deemed it was performing its best service to 
the town in planning a method by which the town could most easily 
avoid the expense of a school. This same method was used in 
later years in the same town, one man being paid " for standing 
in school master two courts." If the town was presented at these 
sessions, as it probably was, it could have been solemnly affirmed 
by the town fathers that they had contracted with a teacher, as 
was the case, that he was on the ground ready to receive all 
scholars who came to him, and that, therefore, the town was not 
liable to a fine. But they told not the whole truth and here was 
the dishonorable subterfuge, which does not appear to have 
pricked their consciences in the least. It is, indeed, a notable 
instance of indifference to the advantages of an education. (^^ 

But it does not follow that when schools were maintained 
throughout the year that the children of the towns were in 
constant attendance. But very few attended all the year, and 
most of them for but a few months. ^-^ That it was probable that 
but few scholars would attend the school in Watertown during 
the spring and summer of 1694 is indicated in the contract with 
the master. This provided that upon the first of April he was to 
begin teaching at the school house, and " then, if upon a month's 
trial at the school house there appeared not a considerable quan- 
tity of scholars then he has liberty to keep all the year at his 
own house." (^^ In Braintree the established tuition fee was 
known as the " quarter money." That it was usual for scholars to 



(i> Sewall, Woburn, p. 214. 

(2) Trumbull, Northampton II. p. 222. 

(3) Watertown Recs. II. p. 62. 



112 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

attend school but a quarter at a time in this town is shown by 
the town's act in 1700. " Voted — every scholar shall pay for his 
entry into the school one shilling and so successively for every 
quarter for the whole year if he shall go more than one quarterM^ 
That some children in Boston did attend school but little, if 
at all, is evidenced from the acts of the town in 1682 when it 
built its almshouse and established two elementary schools. By 
the latter act the same committee which was to build the alms- 
house was also to " consider of and provide one or more free 
schools." The preamble to this act states that " many more 
persons and families that misspend their time in idleness and 
tippling with great neglect of their callings and suffer their chil- 
dren shamefully to spend their time in the streets." <^^) Two 
schools were established and instruction in them in reading, writ- 
ing, and ciphering was offered free of charge to all the children 
of the town. Since these were the first two schools in Boston 
to furnish elementary instruction and the only way in which this 
had been previously afforded was in the family and in private 
schools, it follows that the education of some was totally neglected. 
That this was the case with some or even many families living 
on the outskirts of some of the rural towns far away from the 
central school is just as certain. The fact that these people were 
brought before the selectmen and admonished for their neglect 
is ample proof, and records of this character frequently appear, ^^^ 
The acts of the Massachusetts General Court in restricting the 
limit of population in the new and abandoned settlements implies 
it, as does also the act of the Connecticut legislature of similar 
purport, a few years later. 

The decline in interest in the education of the old type is ob- 
served in the altered curriculum of the grammar school. The 
subjects of instruction in the school at Dorchester as presented 
in the " rules and regulations " of 1645 were " humane learning, 
and good literature and likewise good manners," and the " prin- 
ciples of the Christian religion." In 1655 the subjects ordered 
were English, Latin and Greek and " writing as he [the master] 
shall be able." In 1676 Greek had been dropped out and writ- 
ing was given an equal standing with Latin and English or 

(■1) Braintree Recs. p. 47- 

(2') Boston Recs. VII. pp. is7-8. 

(3) Watertown Recs. I. pp. 103, 107, 109. These are good typical instances. 



Intellectual Decline. 113 

reading. <^> This omission of Greek was general. The general 
tendency in the rural towns was to give only as much Latin as 
would satisfy the legal requirement and to make of the grammar 
school as far as possible an elementary school. This tendency 
appears early in Watertown, where in 165 1 the master was to 
teach " to read and write and so much of Latin according to an 
order of the Court." In Newbury in 1675, the master was to 
teach " to write and read and cipher and teach a grammar school." 
The chief interest was in the " necessary pieces or parts of learn- 
ing videl : reading and writing " as it is stated in the acts of the 
inhabitants of Springfield. ^^^ 

The time given previously to the classics was occupied partially 
by instruction in the elements of arithmetic. This subject known 
as " casting accounts " or " ciphering " was added by the towns 
to the curriculum of the elementary school as specified in the act 
of 1647. '^s interest in the languages lessened in those towns 
where grammar schools were required, arithmetic supplanted the 
languages as far as the courts would permit. By 1700 most all 
towns having the elementary school only gave instruction in it in 
addition to reading and writing. It seems on the whole to have 
been paired with writing, the pupil taking writing, pursuing also 
arithmetic. ^^^ 

The social and economic conditions of the times in the rural 
towns did not demand an education. The general pursuit was 
farming carried on under adverse conditions. Learning to read 
the primer, psalter, and catechism brought no economic return, 
for they were not better prepared for their work after going to 
school than before. Furthermore, to read and write did not open 
the way to further knowledge of their occupation. Neither did 
it offer a means of knowledge of things happening throughout 
the world. For there were practically no books other than the 
Bible except among the ministry ; there were no newspapers, no 
post offices or post routes for letters. Intelligence of the outside 
world came by word of mouth, and but infrequently and slowlv. 
Moreover, the people were little interested in this intelligence ex- 
cept when their own liberties were endangered. They were a 



(*) Dorchester Records, pp, 56, 73, 198. 

C2) Watertown Recs. p. 21. Currier, Newbury, p. 396. Burt, SprinKfield I. p. 137. 

(') Trumbull, Northampton II. pp. 193, 389; Frothingham, Charleston p. 177; Boston 
Recs. yil. pp. 158, 240; Plymouth Recs. pp. 141, 270; Watertown Recs. I. p. 21, II. p. 132; 
Cambridge Recs., p. 296; Currier, Newbury, pp. 396, 400; Felt, Salem, pp. 439, 440. 



114 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

simple, plodding, industrious, unaggressive, honest race, knowing 
little and caring less for anything beyond their own restricted 
horizon. Education had gained its sanction from their fore- 
fathers largely on religious grounds. They venerated their deeds 
and perpetuated their institutions, but they had almost lost the 
spiritual quality which gave these institutions their life. The 
school remained and was regarded theoretically as a good thing. 
But the presumption of the good in it as formerly conceived was 
largely lacking. The old sanction was gone, and a new one had 
not as yet taken hold of the people with sufficient force to cause 
them to provide schools of their own initiative. Education, once 
guided skillfully and with a definite purpose and regarded as one 
of the most important concerns in the social life, was now neg- 
lected for the more selfish and immediate ends of a much more 
restricted social life. 

But there was another prominent reason for diminution of 
interest in schools, political in character, though it produced pro- 
found economic effects. The hard times first felt in the forties 
were succeeded by years in which through strenuous effort the 
people were just beginning to establish themselves on a satis- 
factory economic basis when in 1675 the trouble with the Indians 
began. (^) After this until the time when the period of this study 
closes financial stringency and poverty had to be struggled with 
on account of the continuance of the difficulties with the savages 
and the political conflicts between England and France. Whereas 
in 1670 only one-half the countr}' rate was levied and in 1670 
none at all, in the ten years from 1675 to 1684 an average of five 
and one half rates were assessed upon the people. Within five 
years more increased taxation was again imposed on account of 
King William's War and continued through many years. (^^ These 
wars, moreover, caused the temporary abandonment of some 
towns, and the serious interruption of the daily pursuits in many 
others. Every town, furthermore, was more or less affected, even 
if secure from attack, by the departure of the men as soldiers. 

The political troubles thus brought on poverty which in some 
towns was sorely felt.^^^ This economic result in turn seriously 
affected the problem of school support, both in the case of the 
town rate, for the people were already taxed very grievously, 

(1) Palfrey III. p. 133- 

(2) Collection of Ainerican Statistical Associations I. pp. 248-90. 

(3) Hazen's Billerica, p. 69. 



Intellectual Decline. 115 

and also in the case of the tuition-tax on scholars. The payment 
of the latter being dependent upon attendance, many parents no 
doubt chose to keep their children at home rather than to pay 
the tax. This force, beginning to work in 1676, had by the close 
of the century promoted an indifference in which there was little 
or no appreciation of the benefits of an education. 

The educational acquirements of the people at this time — about 
1700 — is reflected in the records kept by the town clerks. This 
office was regarded as very important and only those specially 
skilled in the art of writing and proficient in expression of thought 
and in spelling were chosen. These records show a low standard 
of ability to have been almost universal among the rural communi- 
ties. Neither were the town officers skillful in keeping accounts 
in a systematic way. Many men and almost all women signed 
legal documents by their marks.(^> The general apathy which 
these facts reveal could not have promoted schools. 

Though it is difficult and probably impossible to get at the 
exact extent of this general indifference to schools at the close 
of the seventeenth century, yet it seems plain that there was a 
visible tendency to dispense with the reading and writing school 
as well as the grammar school in some towns. The evidence to 
support this view is found in the facts, that the laws of 1692 
and 1701 included the reading and writing school as well as the 
grammar school in the clause imposing a penalty for failure to 
obey the law, and in the statements of the law of 1701 covering the 
reasons for its enactment, while the laws of 1647, 1671, and 1683 
provided for penalties upon the towns for non-maintenance of the 
grammar school alone. <-> This act of 1692 after re-enacting 
substantially the law of 1647 continues: "Every such school- 
master to be suitably encouraged and paid by the inhabitants. 
And the selectmen and inhabitants of such towns, respectively, 
shall take effectual care and make due provision for the settle- 
ment and maintenance of such schoolmaster and masters. And 
if any town, qualified as before exprest shall neglect the due 
observance of this act, for the procuring and settling of any 

(}) Of thirteen men conveying a piece of the proprietor's land to the town oi Man- 
chester m 1716 eight made their mark. Records, p. 133. Walcott, Concord, pp. iia-^' 
Sewall, Wobum, p. 54; Judd, Hadley, p. 64. 

(») Mass. Col. Recs. II, p. 203; IV. Pt. 2, p. 486; V. p. 414. 



ii6 The Origin of the Moinng School in Massachusetts. 

such schoolmaster as aforesaid, by the space of one year, every 
such defective town shall incur the penalty of ten pounds for 
every conviction of such neglect * * * " <^) 

The law of 1701 ^^^ repeats in the preamble that portion of the 
law of 1692 which is the re-enactment of the law of 1647 ^^^ 
enacts " that the penalty or forfeiture for non-observance of the 
said law shall henceforth be twenty pounds per annum and so 
proportionately for a lesser time that any town shall be without 
such settled schoolmaster respectively." ^^^ 

The statement of the law of 1701 which indicates the tendency 
to get along without the elementary school as well as the grammar 
school is in the preamble : " Whereas it is by law appointed 
— (then is inserted that part of the law of 1692 which specifies 
the kind of schools for each town) — the observance of which 
wholesome and necessary law is shamefully neglected by divers 
towns, and the penalty thereof not required." It would seem 
that if the towns which were required to have only the elemen- 
tary school generally observed it, this law of 1701 would not 
have included them in its provisions. And the fact that the 
penalty for them is placed at a figure which was well nigh the 
amount of a master's salary indicates plainly that the failure to 
obey the law was more than an exceptional occurrence. Probably 
it was not so frequent as the failure to maintain the grammar 
school, but such an act was the more grievous and therefore 
deserved as great a penalty. All of these statements in the law 
may be taken to establish beyond a doubt that both the elementary 
and grammar schools were sadly neglected in many places. 

While these laws reveal the extreme decadence in educational 
affairs, they likewise show the turning of the tide toward im- 
provement. This is particularly true of the law of 1701. It 
expresses a stiffening tendency among the leaders of the state. 

(•) Prov. Laws I. p. 62. 

(^) Prov. Laws L p. 470. 

(3) It seems probable that the penalty of five pounds in the law of 1647 was in- 
tended to apply to the reading and writing school also though it is not so stated in tlie 
law. The increased fines in 1671 and 1683, however, applied to grammar scliools alone. 
The decision of these points must wait until the records of the courts are printed, a work 
that is now being carried on for Essex County. Granting, however, that the fine of five 
pounds was assessed against towns for not having a reading and writing school up to 1691, 
the argument is not invalidated. The author has not met, however, with a fully sub- 
stantiated instance of a town being fined for the failure to maintain a purely reading and 
writing school at any time during the entire period of the study, though it is evident that 
the towns hastened to get a schoolmaster as soon as the number of fifty householders were 
reached. It is difficult to get material upon this point from town records because the towns 
which were of the requisite size for a reading and writing school at this time either have 
not published their records, or they were so poorly kept that no reference is made to the fine. 



Intellectual Decline. 117 

Not only is the fine increased to an amount which would go a 
long way toward the payment of the master and the choice of the 
grammar school master guarded so as to insure a teacher of good 
ability, but in addition the custom of employing the minister of 
the town as master was expressly prohibited. The enforcement 
of the laws was also better secured by the following clause : 
" And the justice of peace in each respective county are hereby 
directed to take effectual care that the laws respecting schools 
and schoolmasters be duly observed and put in execution ; and all 
grand jurors within their respective counties shall diligently 
inquire and make presentment of all breaches and neglect of the 
said laws, that so due prosecution may be made against the 
offenders." 

The towns felt the force of this law and at once responded, 
often much against their will, by maintaining schools more 
regularly. In the case of Watertown, one of the two towns 
which were taken as typical of those towns not fully observing 
the law, (^^ compliance with it was thereafter constant. The 
enactment of this law in consequence of this upward trend among 
those who had the destiny of the state in charge had much to do 
with the creation of the moving school. Its effect can be best 
shown however in another connection. ^^^ 

It is worthy of note here that the school was regarded as an 
agent of social conservation on the new basis of the civil state. 
The school having lost its moorings was now well in hand again 
but under a new master — the state and not the church. The 
civil school of the church-state had become the civil school of the 
civil state. Its purposes were to prevent " the nourishing of 
ignorance and irreligion," ^^^ to propagate religion and good 
manners, and thereby serve as an agent against " intemperance, 
immorality and profaneness ;"(*^ and not to get "the true sense 
and meaning of the original " scriptures which otherwise " might 
be clouded by false glosses of saint seeming deceivers, "^^^ nor 
" to fill places of most eminence as they are empty or wanting," 
(i.e. in state and church). (®> The masters were not therefore 
compelled to meet the qualifications that they had not " manifested 



(•) Watertown Recs, II. p. 139. 

(2) See Chapter X. 

(3) Law of 1 70 1, Prov. Laws I. p. 470. 
(*S Laws of 171 2; Prov. Laws I. p. 681. 

(*) Law of 1647, Mass. Col. Recs. II. p. 247. 

(•) Declaration of 1652, Mass. Col. Recs. IV. Ft. 1, pp. loo-i. 



ii8 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

themselves unsound in the faith or scandalous in their lives," 
and could give " due satisfaction according to the rules of 
Christ "(^> (i.e. as set forth in the established church) ; but 
rather in the case of the reading and writing school masters 
nothing was stipulated, and in the case of the grammar school 
master only that he was to be " some discreet person of good 
conversation, well instructed in the tongues." ^-^ These intel- 
lectual and moral qualifications were to be passed upon after 
I/O] by the pastors as those most competent to determine 
these points" but their power did not legally pass beyond them.C^ 
The law of iyi2y^ which refers to private and not public schools, 
carries out the same principle. Religion is regarded as neces- 
sary to morality, but ecclesiastic domination of the individual and 
the state is absent. The school was provided by the state for 
the purpose of giving every child the opportunity of gaining the 
rudiments of an education, intellectual and moral and religious, 
which would make him a good citizen without fixing arbitrarily 
the mold into which he should conform. The school, from the 
point of view of the individual child on the other hand, was 
regarded as giving him a means for his fullest and freest develop- 
ment without reference to any preconceived pattern into which 
his personality must fit. The school was thus for both the good 
of the individual and of the state. The state by securing the 
best interests of the individuals composing it conserved its own 
best interests : the individual thus obtaining the good furnished 
by the state enriched himself and thereby the state. 

With the recital of two incidents in local history, one of which 
pictures alike the lowest point of interest and the beginning of 
the upward tendency as well, and the other, the new relationship 
of the school to the community as just presented, this chapter 
will close. The first incident occurred in Danvers during the 
last years of the first decade in the eighteenth century. ^^^ This 
locality was then known as the " Village " of the town of Salem 



(1) Law of i6s4 — Mass. Col. Recs. IV; pp. 182-3. 

(2) Law of 1692; Prov. Laws I. p. 63. 

(3) This must not be interpreted as meaning that the towns no longer sought men 
of proper religious qualification; but rather that there was no longer a narrow view of 
what constituted the proper qualifications, and that the element of religion had lost its 
dominance over other considerations. The determination the religious qualifications 
was not vested by this law in the ministry. Yet, had it been, there would have been far 
greater liberality than fifty years previous. Law of 1701; Prov. Laws I. p. 470. 

(*) Prov. Laws I. p. 681. 

(*) Archer, in Standard Hist, of Essex Co., pp. 96-99. 



Intellectual Decline. 119 

and was part of the second parish of that town. Just how much 
schooling its children had received in previous years cannot be 
stated ; most of it, however, had been furnished by private means. 
Through agitation the town had given it a small amount of 
the income from the school funds, which were unusually large, 
in 1700, and possibly occasionally during the years thereafter. ^^^ 
But there was no schoolhouse. The pastor, a Mr. Green, in- 
terested himself in the project of building one. The following 
are extracts from his diary written on various days during March 
1708: " nth — I spoke to several about building a schoolhouse, 
and determined to do it — 18. I wrote to ye neighbors about a 
schoolhouse and found them wilHng to help — 22. Meeting of 
the inhabitants. I spoke with several about building a school- 
house. I went to ye town meeting and said to this effect, — 
Neighbors, I am about building a schoolhouse for the good educa- 
tion of our children — and I speak of it here that so every one 
that can have benefit, may have opportunity for so good a ser- 
vice. Some replied that it was a new thing to them and they 
desired to know where it should stand and what the design for it 
was. To them I answered that Deacon IngersoU should give 
land for it to stand on — and I designed to have a good school- 
master to teach their children to read and write and cipher and 
everything that is good. Many commended the design and none 
opposed it." The pastor secured timber and built the school- 
house hired the teacher and paid her himself for that year and 
the next. It is probable that he received help from his neighbors, 
but the work was to a large extent his alone. The general apathy 
is apparent in non-opposition to the plan and in the failure to 
help him in paying the school dame. His work bore fruit how- 
ever. After this date town support seems to have been more 
constant. In 1724 the school was held in four different places, 
and in 1734 the whole amount spent upon schools in the town was 
divided between the different parts of the town on the basis of 
the Province tax.^^^ 

The second incident occurred in 1692 in Salisbury, which 
town was probably not at that time compelled to support a gram- 
mar school. However that may be, the law was frequently if 
not generally disregarded, and the character of the incident was 
not affected thereby. The town in this year seems to have taken 

(>) Felt, Salem I. p. 440. 
(2) Ibid I. pp. 442-7- 



120 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

an unusual action regarding schools. It is the motive of this 
action that interests us, for it indicates the new tendency of look- 
ing to the welfare of the individual as an individual and the con- 
sequent benefits to the community and the state thereby. The 
town voted to employ a teacher competent to teach Latin for the 
reason " that some young men wanted to be learned for a physi- 
cian and a knowledge of Latin was necessary. "^^^ Whether the 
town was put to any additional expense in carrying out this act 
we do not know. But it does not matter, for it indicates the new 
point of view of the town looking primarily to the future of the 
individual and not to the perpetuation of the state. 

Thus during the decades immediately preceding and following 
the year 1700 educational matters had reached a low level, but 
at the same time there was the beginning of a well-defined move- 
ment towards its upbuilding. This condition had been reached 
through several decades of growing indifference, and the improve- 
ment was destined to be even more slow. But the start was 
here made and at its inception was created the moving school. 

(1) CutTier, in Standard History of Essex Co., p. 405. 



CHAPTER VIII 

DECENTRALIZING TENDENCIES OF DEMOCRACY 

The process by which the school broke away from the control 
of the church and became a civil institution has been traced in 
previous chapters. The changes in agencies of control from 
those created at the time of the establishment of the earliest 
schools to the close of the seventeenth century have also been set 
forth. The account was one of increasing democratization and 
secularization in the management of schools. ^^^ In this chapter it 
is desirable first to recapitulate in brief this entire development 
and to point out its bearing upon the creation of the moving 
school. 

The transition of the school from an ecclesiastical to a civil 
institution took place during the first twenty-five years of the 
settlement. Before 1647 its establishment and maintenance were 
a blending of the old and the new forms of administration and 
support then used in schools and state. The practices of the 
church were most evident in the methods of supporting the 
master, while in the control of the school the civil agencies pre- 
dominated. The powers of the civil agencies were, however, de- 
termined to some extent by the system of church administration. 
Their form as well as their powers, were very often influenced 
also by the method of administering chartered schools followed 
in England at that time. Both of these systems were aristocratic 
in tendency. As a result the selectmen or the board of feoffees 
probably exercised a larger amount of legislative control over the 
school than did the town meeting, and performed all of the exe- 
cutive functions as well. 

In consequence of the passage of the law of 1647, the school 
came to be regarded wholly as an institution of the state and 
thus subject to civil methods of control and support. The 
voluntary contribution gave way to the civil tax ; control by a 
permanent board of feoffees was largely abandoned, and the town 
meeting gradually assumed the legislative powers which legally 
belonged to it from the beginning. 

(>) Chapters II and IV. 



122 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

The latter half of the century stands out plainly as the era 
of the completely civil school. In form it was a school of a single 
teacher remaining in one place, usually in the village, which, how- 
ever, was not always the geographical centre of the town. Those 
towns wherein democracy was strongest and those which were 
not fettered by any past practices soon developed the habit of per- 
forming all or most of the legislative functions necessary to the 
establishment and maintenance of the school in town meeting, 
and, thus, of delegating to the selectmen merely ministerial, or 
executive, powers. This system of school administration was 
universal at the close of the seventeenth century. There had 
appeared, however, at various times outcroppings of the still 
more democratic institution, the special temporary school com- 
mittee, which was to have its period of rapid growth in the follow- 
ing century. 

Thus, the development of school control during the entire 
seventeenth century may be characterized as an evolution of 
democratic and secular control out of the methods of control of 
church and chartered schools. 

But the school constituted only one feature of the political 
administration of the town. While the experience in dealing 
with it doubtless had some effect upon increasing the power of 
democracy, yet the development of democracy in the control of 
other civil interests had a greater influence in the democratization 
and secularization of school control. The entire political move- 
ment was, moreover, a product of the changing social and eco- 
nomic life.<^^> This background has been furnished in the preceding 
chapters. It remains here briefly to note the connection between 
the political and the social and economic life and to treat of these 
elements in the political life which made it possible for democracy 
to express itself in the making of new institutions. Then these 
institutions which had a direct effect upon the creation of the 
moving school must be described and their bearing set forth. 

While on the one hand the loosening of the religious bond was 
causing the original society composed of its various ranks of 
ministry, gentry, and commonalty to fall apart, the difficult eco- 
nomic conditions with which they had to contend worked, espe- 
cially in the rural towns, toward an equality — political and social, 

(') Chapters V and VI. 



Decentralising Tendencies of Democracy. 123 

not absolute, but relative — among all men.^^^ This equality at the 
close of the century found its expression in a civil, not a church- 
state, and according to his abilities as a citizen in this civil state 
was each man regarded by his fellow man and given responsi- 
bilities in proportion thereto. 

The performance of legislative functions upon the numerous 
and frequent questions which were brought before the town meet- 
ing in these communities, where seemingly almost everything that 
occurred in the public and private life of its inhabitants had to 
pass under the purview of the town meeting or its officials, gave 
all the inhabitants continuous exercise in the development of 
political sagacity. The broad extent of New England function- 
alism developed this same quality in the administrative side of 
town government. ^^) 

Lengthening participation in the debates of town meetings and 
experience in office gave them also confidence in themselves — in 
the rightfulness of their opinions and in their ability to act upon 
their convictions. The instinct of self-assertion in political affairs 
was approaching its maximum. Each man wished to have the 
greatest amount of control through the realization of his ideas 
in legislation, and, if the duties of administration of that legis- 
lation were to his liking, in the actual executive control as well. 
His ideas of right were determined on the basis of selfish interest 
rather than upon the general welfare. Each man desired to 
gain the maximum benefit of every civil enterprise. And espe- 
cially when his money went in the form of a town tax toward 
the support of any scheme or institution, he thought it right that 
he should get all the benefit from it that he could possibly secure. 

What was true of the individual was likewise true of groups 
of individuals united by common selfish interests upon measures 
before the town meeting. The sagacity and self-confidence of 
the individuals afforded a group sagacity and self-confidence 
which was more effectual in the gaining of their common ends. 

In consequence, administration became decentralized. Smaller 
geographical units were formed within the town. The manner 

(1) Weeden I. pp. 281-2. Just what was the effect upon the non-freeman in his partici- 
pation in town affairs when colonial citizenship was bestowed upon him it is impossible 
to state. It seems, however, that it must have been in the direction of his greater self, 
assertion. 

(2) Howard, pp. 96-99. Howard mentions some forty petty local offices which were 
established in different New England towns, many of which were held by several persons 
at the same time. In Manchester, in 1760, with 188 names on the tax list, 50 town of- 
fices were filled by the election of ,^6 men, 8 being elected to more than one office and three 
to four different positions. Manchester Records II. pp. 195-200. 



124 ^^^ Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

and the extent to which democracy expressed itself in these sub- 
ordinate organizations and their influence upon the moving of 
the town school now claim our attention. 

Let us first take the parish, which was the earliest and the 
most prominent subdivision of the town throughout colonial 
history. As the population extended outward from the centre it 
became increasingly difficult to attend the services of the church 
located in the centre of the town. This was especially true in 
the case of a group of settlers on a fertile spot several miles 
removed from the central settlement or on the opposite side of a 
wide stream. Church attendance was most difficult in winter. 
Under such circumstances the need for a pastor among them- 
selves was most apt to suggest itself and to meet with response 
from the town. Accordingly, even as early as 1650 some of 
these groups were permitted by the town to employ a minister 
for themselves either for part of or for the entire year, while 
they still remained members of the town church. (^> Some of 
these settlements became towns in a short time, others remained 
as parishes within the town ; but in both cases these groups 
gained direct control of their church organization and also of the 
civil organization necessary to maintain the material interests of 
the church. By 1700 some twenty separate parishes had been 
constituted within the towns of which there were at that time 
eighty. <^) As many of these eighty towns were small, it follows 
that the parish was a well-recognized institution in the larger 
and more populous towns. 

This indicates a strong tendency toward the division of local 
units to the smallest territory consistent with practicability. It 
was moreover deep-set in so far as churches were concerned. A 
reading of the town records at the time when a certain group of 
inhabitants wished to secure the consent of the town to the estab- 
lishment of a new parish very often furnishes an account of a 
prolonged bitter quarrel, extending in some instances over many 
years and affecting the entire life of the town, public and 
private. (') 

The existence of the civil parish organization for the carrying 
on of the civil matters of the church with its full machinerv (*> — 



(•) Nason, Hist, of Beverly in Standard Hist, of Essex Co., pp. 68-71. 

f) Report of the Commissioner of Public Records 1885, pp. 10-148 passim. 

(3) Currier's Newbury, pp. 347-8. 

(■•) Prov. Laws I. pp. 102, 506. 



Decentralizing Tendencies of Democracy. 125 

the parish meeting, clerk, constable, and assessors — presented 
constantly an administrative means for the accomplishment of 
this well-seated desire for divided control, and so emphasized the 
decentralizing tendency. The parish meeting became an organ 
for the discussion of the interests of the parish other than those 
connected with the church and for determining upon courses of 
action which should be taken to advance those interests. (^^ 

This extra-legal function of the parish demands our attention 
most particularly in connection with schools, in order that the 
effect of the manifestation of democracy through it upon the 
creation of the moving school may be judged. Springfield fur- 
nishes an interesting example.^^) In 1705 "the committee for 
the precinct on the west side of the great river in behalf of their 
said precinct did petition that the town would either erect and 
establish a school on their side or else acquit them of pay- 
ing any rate for the town school on the east side." In 1706 they 
again petitioned, at which time the privileges they desired from 
the town were obtained. Then the parish organization was used 
in the same way as the town government. It was agreed to and 
voted that " the said west side inhabitants have liberty to get a 

schoolmaster and that the charge be carried on by the town 

in the same manner as the school affair is carried on on the east 
side of the great river according as the law directs." (3) gy this, 
evidently, the parish, or precinct, was permitted to choose their 
own master ; whether a committee of the precinct performed any 
part in the administration of the school in conjunction with the 
selectmen is uncertain. However this was the case in 1708, for 
it was voted that the " inhabitants of the said west side of the 
great river have liberty to add from among themselves some one 
man to join with the selectmen to carry on the afTair."(*) Thus 
the parish became to some extent an agency in the administration 
of schools. As such, it was a subsidiary local unit for the execu- 
tion of the state law, acting under the authority of the town in 
an extra-legal manner in the same way in which the school dis- 
trict later exercised these functions. 

Similar conditions prevailed in what was known as Salem 
Village. I n 1700 Salem granted fifteen pounds annually for 

(1) Trumbull, Northampton II. pp. 194-8. 
(») Burt, Springfield II. p. 368. 
(») Ibid II. p. 372. 
(*) Ibid II. p. 380. 



126 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

three years to the inhabitants " without the bridge." One of the 
divisions of this territory was known as the " village " and later 
became Danvers. From that time on occasional grants were 
made. The administration of the school, which was part of the 
time entirely supported by the grant received from the town and 
part of the time by additional tuition, was carried on by the 
precinct organization. The first record tells of the choosing of 
three men as a school committee who were " empowered to agree 
with some suitable person to be a schoolmaster amongst us, in 
some convenient time, and make return to the people." The fact 
that the parish could not tax itself for additional funds to support 
its school was one of the principal reasons urged in the frequent 
petitions of the parish to be set off from Salem. ^^^ 

The various precincts of Hadley exercised considerable power 
even from the beginning. In 1665 before the west side became a 
parish, it maintained its own highways and bridges. In later 
years the south precinct built its school house, and the east pre- 
cinct administered the school funds given by the town and even 
taxed itself for support of schools. ^^^ 

Muddy River, later Brookline, was in 1687 given independent 
powers of government in some respects and still held dependent 
to Boston in others. The " hamlet " was required to maintain 
its town highways and its own poor and to support a school. It 
held general meetings to carry on this administration and elected 
selectmen, surveyors, clerks, fence viewers, tithingmen, and a 
constable. It levied its own taxes for these purposes and enjoyed 
complete independence in control of its schools for some years. <^^) 
While this was not a parish, yet to all practical intents and pur- 
poses, with the exception that it did not have a church, it may 
be regarded as of the same administrative rank. It shows the 
same general tendency of dividing and of including schools in the 
category of those concerns which the smaller and inferior unit 
should administer. (*) 

Thus far our examples of the influence of democracy as- 
serting itself through the parish toward the creation of the 
moving school have been confined to those cases wherein the 

(1) Felt, Salem I. pp. 440-7. Archer, Hist, of Danvers in Standard Hist, of Essex Co., 
p. 00. 

(2) Judd, Hadley, pp. 86, 40s; Amherst Recs. p. 17. 

(3) Brookline Recs. pp. 85-90. 

{*) Worcester presents a similar case, the "North part" being set off in 1730 for seven 
years. Worcester Recs. II. p. 66. 



Decentralising Tendencies of Democracy. 127 

precinct not only brought about the division of the school funds 
but also administered them to some degree, to a few corrobo- 
rating instances of the extra-legal exercise of power, and to the 
independent power enjoyed by a local unit which was neither 
parish nor town. In each of these instances a divided and not 
a moving school resulted, meaning by this term a school 
taught by more than one teacher, each teacher teaching in only 
one place. In an ideal scheme of the evolution of the school 
district the divided school would be considered a later step than 
the moving school. Yet in some towns the moving school did 
not exist; in others it followed the divided school. The divided 
school must therefore be reckoned as one of the influences that 
worked towards the evolution of the moving school. 

We shall now consider three instances in which the existence 
of the parish, or the agitation for its establishment, caused the 
erection of the moving school. In Newbury the first step for 
the erection of the second parish began in 1685. The contest 
waxed warm for years, the town refusing to consent until 1695 
when the division was effected. In 1687 the first grant of money 
was made to each end of the town for a school. In 1691 was 
the first moving school. Then in 1693, when a compromise was 
effected by which the town supported a minister in the west 
end,(i) the aids given to education outside the centre ceased 
and was not resumed again until 171 1, after which date it was con- 
tinuous. Taking into account the feeling between the different 
sections of a town under stress of such a conflict between them, it 
is reasonable to conclude that the only way in which the vote 
for schools would be passed was through some such arrange- 
ment as this. Neither does it appear entirely a coincidence that 
the benefit extended to the outer parts of the town should be 
dropped when the parish was created. The inhabitants of the 
west end had gotten what they desired, they were not much 
interested in schools, the school was not entirely free from 
tuition except for the most elementary pupils, the tradition was 
in favor of the central school, and so they permitted the old 
order to be resumed. 

In Watertown the decline in the intellectual spirit, combined 
with a slumbering dissatisfaction over the distance to the meeting 

(*) Currier, Newbury, pp. 347-51. 

9 



128 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

house and school house, ^^^ accounts partially for the refusal of 
the town in 1690 to longer support a school by the town rate. 
Since the town would not vote sufficient funds for a school in 
the school house, the inhabitants were compelled to form a tem- 
porary association to complement the small amount granted by 
the town. But this arrangement soon failed. The school was 
not maintained according to law, and the town was presented to 
the court. When the law of 1701 increasing the penalty to 
twenty pounds was passed, the town was forced to support the 
school by a town rate and the only way in which this could be 
passed was to allow those in the west end of the town the school 
for one half the time. This arrangement was strictly maintained 
for years and the greatest care was exercised plainly that the 
interests of each side should be secured. Thus was created the 
moving school in response to the demands of the people who 
were petitioning that they should be made a precinct, and who 
had refused to longer vote sufficient money for a school in the 
village as had been done previously for over a score of years. 
The connection between the precinct and the moving school is 
obvious. ^^^ 

In some, probably in most, towns the parish was created before 
the moving school. Thus the south precinct of Braintree was 
established in 1708, but it did not get any advantage from the 
town school until eight years later. Then it was given a reading 
and writing school at the expense of the town for one half year 
annually. This was in principle a moving school. For many 
years after the lines of division of the school were those of the 
parish. ('^ 

The Upper Society of Plymouth was formed in 1695 as the 
west precinct. In the following year was the first moving school 
in the town, being located in four places. While there is nothing 
beyond this single record to indicate connection between the two 
events yet it supports the evidence of the towns in which the 
relation is clear. ^*^ In Newbury it was customary to name in 
town meeting the various amounts that each parish should raise 
for the support of schools, and then the parishes appointed the 



(1) These buildings were located in the easterly part of the town. The quarrel over the 
erection of another meeting house continued over thirty years. 

(2) Drake, Hist, of Middlesex Co. II. pp. 407-8. Watertown Recs. II. pp. a6, 39, 42, 
43. 62. 104, T08, no, 126, 132, 139 et seq. 

(3) Braintree Recs. pp. 70, 88 et seq. 

(*) Plymouth Recs. II. p. 7, note; I. p. 245. 



Decentralising Tendencies of Democracy. 129 

teacher and fixed the place or places where the school should be 
kept.(^> 

Deerfield in 1740 and Sutton in 1745 present also instances 
of the parish being used as the territorial unit for the distribu- 
tion of the moving school/^) 

The democratic impulse for maximum benefit and control took 
definite expression in strictly civil institutions as well. The most 
notable of these from the point of view of their influence upon 
the creation of the moving school and the later evolution of the 
school district was the division of the town into precincts for the 
repair of highways. The earliest records in many of the towns 
indicate a loose division of the town into parts and the election 
of one or more surveyors for each part. In Boston in 1636 two 
were chosen " for the highways towards Roxbury " and two " for 
the highways to the mill." In 1652 Rumny Marsh and Muddy 
River were each constituted a parish for a single surveyor. (3> 
Salem in 1644 elected two " surveyors of the highway towards the 
mill and the farms that ways " and two others for the highways 
" towards Wenham and that ways."^*) It seems likely that a 
similar method was followed in Dorchester also.(^) In Groton 
the " several squadrons " of the surveyors were definitely laid 
out by the selectmen within the first few years of the town's 
history.^o) In Watertown, however, the surveyors acted as a 
unit, while in Dedham both plans were used at various times. (^> 
The evidence thus adduced seems to establish the conclusion 
that generally the different surveyors of highways directed their 
attention to different sections of the town. From what we know 
of the New England character it may be reasonably inferred 
that each surveyor had charge wholly or jointly of the section in 
which he lived. The town records from this earliest time do 
not furnish positive evidence of the continuation of this plan; 
their language is such as to make it possible that it did or did 
not exist. There are records, however, of action taken at the 
close of the century in the newly established Provincial Court 

(') Currier, Newbury, pp. 403-4. 

(»■) Sheldon, Deerfield I. p. 570. Benedict and Tracy, Sutton, p ^loo 

(3) Boston Recs. II. p. 16; II. p. 108. - y i ^■ 

(*) Salem Recs. p. 130. 

(*) Dorchester Recs. pp. 88, 98, 108. 

(') Groton Recs. p. 40. 

(') Watertown Recs. I. pp. 27. 125, 127. Dedham Recs. III. pp. 8, 97, loi. 105, iq8. 



130 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

and in the lately annexed town of Plymouth which go to show 
that it was perpetuated and that it was in general use at that 
time. The records of the town of Plymouth show from 1666 
on that three or more surveyors were annually elected without 
anything being said as to assignment of definite territory. Then 
in 1700 after the surveyors were elected as usual it was voted 
that the town choose a committee " to settle how far each sur- 
veyor shall mend and survey," <^^ as though no unusual action 
were being taken. It would seem upon the face of things that 
the town had become more fully settled so that the simple division 
of territory which had existed from the earliest days would no 
longer suffice, and that more definite and detailed bounds had 
become necessary. 

The act of the General Court in 1693, ^-* which was one of a 
series of acts that attempted to put into legal form the various 
previous enactments of the General Court and the local customs 
that had grown up under them, goes to show that the original 
practice still prevailed. It provided that two or more surveyors 
of highways should be chosen annually in each town, who were 
" to take care that all highways, causeys and bridges, lying 
within the precincts of such towns be kept in repair," etc. A 
later act passed in 1725 styled, " an act in explanation of, and 
in supplement to an act, entitled 'An Act for Highways, etc' " 
gives us an insight into what was the condition of affairs at 
the time of its passage. After setting forth in the preamble a 
summary of the act it goes on to state in the same paragraph, — 
" but, forasmuch as there is no direction in the said act for 
stated limits to be observed by the surveyors in repairing and 
amending the said highways, and great inconvenience have hap- 
pened or arisen in many towns ;" it then enacts as a remedy for 
those conditions that the surveyors be assigned " their several 
divisions or districts for repairing or amending from time to 
time, all highways lying within the same."^^^ These two acts 
taken together indicate in connection with the town records, that 
in 1693 it was the custom for the surveyors to have charge of 
certain roughly defined sections of territory, but that as yet 
in most towns either the road systems had not developed suf- 
ficiently to make a definite and extended distinction between 

(1) Plymotith Recs. I. pp. 83-274 passim. 

(2) Prov. Laws I. p. 136. 

(3) Prov. Laws II. p. 338. 



Decentralising Tendencies of Democracy. 131 

the sections necessary, or that the general laxity in the care of 
roads had not created the demand. It proves also that definite 
surveyor's districts existed generally after 1725. 

The bearing of this upon the creation of the moving school 
lies in the fact that it predisposed people to division of the town 
schools. In fact in many respects the two subjects of highways 
and schools are alike in local administration. Today the school 
district and the road district constitute the two smallest divisions 
of local government. And here at the beginning we find them 
influencing the development of each other, as doubtless they have 
ever since. Their points of likeness to the farmer are that each 
takes his goods, either in time or money, and that neither will give 
him appreciable benefit in return unless the expenditure is made 
near to his door. Hence, the decentralizing tendency has ever 
been given a constant impetus in the administration of both in- 
stitutions and the progress of one has naturally had the efifect of 
increasing the momentum of the other. 

Development of units within which all inhabitants contributed 
their common labor to the repair of all the highways within 
them began before the evolution of the school district. The in- 
habitants from the beginning worked only on roads near their 
homes ; with the condition of the roads on the other side of the 
towns they were not concerned. With the dispersion of popula- 
tion and the increased age of the settlement, new roads were 
laid out and thus the burden of their care increased. It became 
necessary to make administration more certain and definite. The 
number of surveyors and so the number of districts were in- 
creased.^^^ Units became smaller rather than larger, and as 
such they became well defined. To the extent that this division 
became conscious, to the same extent was strengthened the sug- 
gestion for the division of every benefit offered by the town's 
funds. And the school being peculiarly an institution from 
which they could not get full benefit unless it was brought close 
to them, the suggestion bore with particular emphasis upon it. 
Their political sagacity and strong self-confidence evolved when 
the time was ripe a plan wherein the previously undivided 
whole was broken up into parts and distributed among all the 
sections of the town, and with general satisfaction to all who 
were concerned. 



(1) In Dorchester, in 1781, there were 2; in Braintree. in 1714. 4: in Boston, in 1600. 
7; in Muddy River, in 1608, 3; in Groton, in 1671, 4: in Dedham, in 1705. 9; in Water- 
town, in 1694, 3: and in Plymouth, in 1700, 5. 



132 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

It is impossible to state just how much weight the fact that 
the town was divided roughly into sections for care of roads, 
had upon the distribution of the school. We know that these 
divisions of the town existed in a rough manner and that the 
decentralizing tendency was generally manifest. On the other 
hand, there was little definiteness in the conditions, administra- 
tion was loose, and little interest was taken in the care of roads. 
Yet there is no doubt that the system of road supervision pre- 
cints did work toward the development of a group consciousness 
among smaller numbers and did therefore afiford suggestions 
which lead to the creation of the moving school. 

As compared with the parish, the highway surveyor's precinct 
had less influence in the rise of the moving school. The parish 
was a fully formed institution in constant activity. Moreover. 
it contained some of the most important features of the original 
town. Yet in the number of the places to which the moving 
school was sent neither the parish nor the surveyor's precincts 
seem to have been followed. Thus in Plymouth the school was 
held in four places and the number of surveyor's precincts was 
five, and the number of parishes two ; in Watertown the numbers 
were two, three and two, and in Muddy River one, three and 
none, respectively. In Springfield the number of places was 
six, and the number of parishes three. In Manchester there 
was one parish, four surveyor's precincts and four dame schools. 
The records do not give satisfactory data, but on the whole it 
seems that the number of places in which the schools " went " lay 
between the number of parishes and the number of surveyor's 
precincts. On the whole, it seems probable that in the next 
century the number of schools approximated more nearly the 
number of surveyor's precincts.^ ^' The influence of both was 
toward division, but in the process of distributing the school, con- 
siderations which were peculiar to the school alone were given 
greatest weight. 

Each of the great number of petty administrative civil offices 
created in consequence of the decentralizing tendencies was gen- 
erally held by several individuals. In many cases it is clear that 
a division of territorv more or less definite was made between 



(1) The number of places in which school was kept in a town was probably, most fre- 
quently, four; the number of parishes was rarely over three and usually not over two. 



Decentralising Tendencies of Democracy. 133 

them. With some offices this division tended to be definite and 
permanent; in others possibly there was no other division than 
that of relative convenience of residence to the work to be done 
among the different holders of the office. These all had a remote 
bearing upon the division of the school, their force being in pro- 
portion to the extent that each promoted group consciousness. 
They, therefore, deserve mention in this study. 

The office in which division of the town's territory was most 
definite and in which case the bounds of the sections tended also 
to remain most permanent was that of the fence-viewer. His 
territory was more definitely marked ofif for him than was that 
of the surveyor of highways. It was thus from the beginning 
of the settlement to the close of the century. (^> 

In consequence of the law of 1677, one tithingman was ap- 
pointed to every ten families in the town. Division of territory <^) 
resulted. Hogreeves were likewise assigned to definite terri- 
tory. *^^^ Some towns were divided geographically as a basis for 
determining membership in the companies of the militia. In 
Watertown there were three military precincts established in 
1 69 1, the bounds being approximately the same as those adopted 
later in the division of town into parishes and into sections in 
which the moving school was held.^*) In Plymouth the two com- 
panies were divided by a road running east and west and were 
known as the " Northerly " and " Southerly " companies. ("^^ 

Division of families among the selectmen was suggested in the 
first law dealing with education in 1642. This often resulted 
in a division determined by the convenience of the selectmen, 
each taking families who resided near him.(^) This method of 
division is the only one set forth in the Connecticut laws of 
1650 which is modelled after this law of i642.('^> In Watertown 
in 1676, the selectmen went there " their several quarters to make 
trial" of children and servants. (**^ In Cambridge, in 1671, 
the town was divided into eight distinctive precincts marked 
by definite bounds. ^^^ 

(>) Dorchester Recs. pp. 99, 197. 276. Dedham Recs. III. p. 07; IV. p. 217- These refer- 
ences furnish typical cases. 

0) Mass. Col. Recs. V. p. 133; Boston Recs. VII. p. 138; Dorchester Rees. p. 223; 
Prov. Laws I. p. 680. 

(3) Boston Recs. VII. p. 46; Plymouth Recs. II. p. 215. 

I*) Drake. Hist, of Middlesex Co. II. p. 445. 

(*) Plymouth Recs. I. p. 214. 

(«) Mass. Col. Recs. II. p. 9; Hazen. Billcrica, p. 252. 

(') Clews, Ed. Legislation and Administration of the Colonial Government, p. 74. 

(•) Watertown Recs. I. p. 104. 

(») Cambridge Recs. p. 188. 



134 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

Constables were also elected for definite divisions of the town. 
In Watertown in 1698 there were the first, second, and third con- 
stable, each for one of those divisions of the town which later 
became a parish. (^) In Duxbury these divisions were called con- 
stablewicks. The line dividing them was used in 1737 in the 
division of the town into sections for the apportionment of the 
moving school. ^^^ 

Assessors were elected from different parts of the town also, 
as in Watertown in 1694, when there were " two of the East End, 
two of the township, and one of the Farms." '^^^ 

An account of the development of the minor administrative 
districts in Boston reveals this tendency to subdivision very 
clearly. In 1669 the town was divided into four districts for 
the purpose of securing better supervision of the swine. Ten 
years later a town watch for fires was established. Eight com- 
panies were created, one in each of the two " wards " in each of 
the four " quarters " of the town for this purpose. This same 
territorial division was followed in the appointment of tithing- 
men one year later. Eight constables were appointed the next 
year, whether one for each company is not clear. The frequency 
of the election of four individuals or of a multiple of four after 
this date strongly suggests that these lines were followed more or 
less closely. The term " ward " also began at this time to come 
into common use. This also indicates definite division of the 
town.(*) A similar tendency to elect officers from different fixed 
territorial sections of the town seems to appear also in Braintree 
after the division into parishes, in Watertown during the nineties, 
and in Billerica.^^^ 

At the close of the seventeenth century we find that the school 
was in control of a democracy which was with rare political 
sagacity and strong self-confidence demanding for the individual 
the maximum control of, and the minimum benefit from, all insti- 
tutions to which the people contributed their support. This 
political principle had led to the creation of additional parishes 
within the town, and to the division of the town into an increas- 
ing number of surveyor's districts. Active participation in the 

(1) Watertown Recs. II. p. 69. 

(2) Duxbury Recs. p. 246. 

(3) Watertown Recs. II p. 77. 

{*) Boston Recs. VII. pp. 46. 131, 138, 143, 222. 

(') Braintree Recs., p. 81; Watertown Recs., pp. 69, 74; Hazen, Billerica, p. 190. 



Decentralizing Tendencies of Democracy. 135 

parish both in control and support of the church, and in the 
surveyor's precincts, emphasized the advantages of decentrahza- 
tion, and accelerated the movement. Furthermore, many of the 
town's administrative concerns were carried on by several officials 
in a single office with a division of territory amongst them. This 
policy had the effect of strengthening the suggestions afforded 
by the parish and the surveyor's precinct. It stood for a general 
habit of administration, that of establishing plurality where singu- 
larity might have sufficed, and of distributing the divided insti- 
tutions over the various parts of the town. It was in response 
to this irresistible tendency toward maximum benefit and maxi- 
mum control, as expressed in these various decentralized insti- 
tutions, that, when the time came for increased attention to be 
directed to educational affiairs, the moving school was created. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE DAME SCHOOL 

Alongside the system of public schools established in Mas- 
sachusetts in 1647 there existed a series of private schools, not 
so well articulated nor so prominent, but yet occupying a large 
place in the life of the colony. They were, ( i ) the grammar 
school of a pastor of a church (2) the reading and writing school 
taught by a master, and (3) the dame school. The second and 
especially the third had an important bearing upon the trans- 
formation of the fixed or standing school into the mov- 
ing school and must therefore receive our careful consideration. 
As there is more material at hand concerning the dame school, 
and as both influenced the creation of the moving school in much 
the same way, the process will be traced out in connection with 
the dame school. Then such facts as we have concerning the 
master's school which are of importance will be presented and 
their bearing shown in the light of the previous treatment of the 
dame school. 

Family instruction was supposed in New England to furnish 
the fundamentals of education, and the parents were held re- 
sponsible by the state for the training of their children, at least 
up to the point of the minimum standard laid down by law.^^^ 
The civil school was established to promote education up to this 
point and to encourage the attainment of higher standards. Rut 
the establishment of the town school did not relieve the parents 
of the burden. If the parent did not send his child to the town 
school or if there was no town school to which to send him, he 
had to provide for the education of his child either in the family 
or in a private school. ^^^ From the standpoint of the state it 
made no difference which class of educational institutions was 
chosen, or whether the child went to school at all. Its only con- 
cern was the attainment of the minimum standard on the part of 
all, and the prevalence of a favorable disposition toward educa- 
tion among a sufficient number of the inhabitants to perpetuate 
the state upon its high intellectual, moral and, religious plane. 

(•) Law of 1642; Mass. Col. Recs. II. p. 9. 

(') Dorchester Recs. p. 73; Judd, Hadley, p. 65; Watertown Recs. I. p. 105; Hazen, 
Billerica, p. 252. 



The Dame School. 137 

The dame school, copied from England, owed its existence in 
Massachusetts primarily to the desire of parents to be relieved 
from part of the instruction of their children or else to place 
them in the hands of those whom they believed more competent 
to perform that service; and secondarily, to the failure of the 
civil school to furnish the grade of instruction carried out in it, 
and, in the case of girls, to admit them at all. 

Similar reasons caused the existence of the private master's 
school for teaching reading, writing, and the elements of arith- 
metic. When there was no town school it furnished this higher 
grade of instruction, and when there was a town school it was 
held for the reason that it was more satisfactory to some parents, 
because of better instruction, greater convenience, or other 
reasons. 

We turn now to the dame school. There is evidence of its 
existence from the beginning of the colony, though mention of it 
does not become frequent until toward the close of the century. 
From that time on through the whole of the eighteenth century 
it was common in the towns of Massachusetts except possibly in 
the smallest settlements. (^> Margery Hoar, the wife of the 
teacher and pastor of the church at Braintree is an example of 
a dame of the early time. She lived in this town from 1639 to 
1687. She is described as being of an " amiable and good " Eng- 
lish family, and as a " gentlewoman of piety, prudence, and 
peculiarly accomplished for instructing young gentlewomen, 
many being sent to her from other towns, especially from Bos- 
ton. "(2) This kind of dame school furnished an education for 
young ladies of a higher grade than that of the ordinary dame 
school. It is found existing in the same form throughout the 
eighteenth century but it had no appreciable effect upon the 
creation of the moving school. ^^^ 

It is with the lower grade of dame schools, wherein the smaller 
children were taught their letters and to read and spell from 
their primers, (*> with which we are concerned in this study. 
Though they likewise probably existed from the beginning, we 
do not find mention of them until forty or fifty years after the 
first settlement. Possibly the deterioration of family instruction 

(') Corey, Maiden, p. 631. 

(*) Adams, Three Episodes in Mass. History,, p. 604. 

(3) Trumbull, Northampton II. p. 182; Boston Recs. XI. 172 et seq.; Hazen, Billerica o 

257- 

{*) Johnson, The Country School in New England, p. 25. 



138 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

broug^ht them into greater prominence, and possibly, also, the in- 
creasing distance from the town school and the corresponding 
decline in the amount of education received by the children ele- 
vated the importance of their instruction. Again, possibly, the 
difficulty of getting masters for schools caused more frequent use 
of the dame school, ^^^ and thus heightened its position in the 
communities so that the records of them are more frequent. In 
just what proportion these different factors entered in to em- 
phasize the dame school, it matters little to our study. The 
facts are that at the close of the century the dame school seems 
to have existed generally. Of this we must now submit the 
proof in so far as this present study has brought instances of 
them to light. 

The earliest mention of a dame school of this inferior class 
is found in Woburn in 1673. There were two schools during this 
year, one kept by " Allen Convar's wife " and the other by "Joseph 
Wright's wife.''^-^ There were one or more dame schools in this 
town from that date to 1680, and in 1686 also, and from this 
time on they were probably continuous. In Billerica in 1679 
there were several school dames giving instruction, according 
to the report of the town to the General Court in 1679, which 
reads " As for schools we have no grammar scholars : ensign 
Thompson is appointed to teach those to write and read that will 
come to him: also several school dames. "^^^ In Concord in 
t68o there were " in every quarter of our town men and women 
that teach to read and write English when parents can spare 
their children and others to go to them."(*^ Cambridge in the 
same year had one school dame the record reading " For Eng- 
lish, our school dame is goodwife Healy."<^^> " Goodwife Mer- 
rick served in the same capacity in Springfield at about this 
time."^*^^ All of these references indicate that these schools had 
existed previous to this time but just how long cannot be said. 
In Andover during the latter part of the seventeenth and the 
early eighteenth century there were dame schools. ^''^ Samuel 
Sewall records in his diary under date of the twenty-seventh of 
April 1691 : " This afternoon had Joseph to school to Capt. Town- 

(') Bailey, Andover, p. 518. 

(2) Sewall, Wobum, p. 52. The dames are usually referred to as the wife or daughter 
of some man. 

(3) Hazen, Billerica, p. 193. 
(•*) Walcott, Concord, p. 129. 
(5) Paige, Cambridge, p. 373. 
(*) Green, Springfield, p. 183. 

(^) Bailey, Andover, pp. 517, 518. 



The Dame School. 139 

send's mother's his cousin Jane accompanying him ; carried his 
horn book." ^^^ The " Diary and Letters of Thomas Hutchin- 
son "(^) contain references to two dame schools kept in Boston 
in the second decade of the eighteenth century, one kept by a 
Mrs. Trivet, another by a Mrs. Wooddell, the age of the children 
going to them varying from three to seven years. The wife 
of Ebenezer Field, the smith of the town of Northfield, kept the 
first school known in that town in 1721. " She taught a class of 
young children at her own house, for twenty-two weeks of the 
warm season." (^^ John Hartwell's wife was given leave " to keep 
a school to instruct children to read in Billerica in I7i9."<*> 

These references would seem of themselves sufficient to indi- 
cate the general existence of the dame school throughout the 
colony. In further support of this view we have, moreover, the 
statement of one who is known as having had an intimate and 
exact knowledge of local history of the towns of Massachusetts. 
Sylvester Judd, in his history of Hadley states, " There were 
many cheap private schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut in 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries kept by dames in their 
own rooms where girls were instructed to read and sew. and, in 
some, small boys were taught to read."^^^ 

Having established the general existence of the dame school, 
their location in the towns next claims our attention. It follows 
in the nature of things that the school must have been near to the 
homes of the children, for the children who attended these schools 
were young children of both sexes or older girls, and they could 
not go far. In those towns which by the close of the century 
had become scattered, some of the dames taught probably in 
the old centre and others in the outskirts of the town where the 
dwellings were somewhat closely situated. Upon this point explicit 
proof is meagre ; such as it is will here be given. In Concord 
as we have seen, either a man or a woman was teaching " in 
every quarter of the town "(*') in 1680. In Woburn in 1673 
there were two school dames paid by the town and so it may be 
inferred they were in dififerent parts of the town.^^^ Billerica in 
1679 had " several dames and at the same time it had a writing 

(1) Mass. Hist. Col., 5th series. V. p. 344. 

(») Pp. 4o-4fi. 

(') Temple & Sheldon, Northfield, p. 163. 

(*) Hazen. Billerica, p. 254. 

(6) Judd, Hadley, p. 64. ' 

(•) Wolcott, Concord, p. 129. 

(') Sewall, Woburn, p. 52. 



140 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

and reading master which indicates their distribution over the 
town/^^ A Hke inference is to be drawn from the statement of 
the selectmen of Andover in 1713 " we do take the best care we 
can for to bring up our children to reading by school Dames. "^^^ 
In Northampton according to the statement of its historian there 
were in the early eighteenth century school dames in all sections 
of the town/"^ This evidence seems sufficient to prove 
the existence of dame schools in the outer sections of the town. 
As we go on to show the influence of these schools upon the 
creation of the moving school the point will be more strongly 
sustained. 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century the educational pro- 
cess was carried on in those towns which maintained schools 
according to law by three different agencies — the family, the 
private school — chiefly represented by the dame school — and 
the town school. The town school, whether a grammar school 
purely, a combination of the grammar and reading and writing 
school, or a writing school simply, furnished instruction con- 
tinuous to that offered in the dame school. In other words, the 
usual education furnished in the dame school was required for 
admission to the town school. <*^ So when the parents wished 
to take advantage of the school for the education of their boys, 
they sent them first to the dame school in summer until they had 
learned to spell and to read their primers, and then to the town 
school. 

These two facts stand out prominently in this scheme of edu- 
cation in a small town. First, as far as inferior education in the 
dame school was concerned all sections of the town were on an 
equality; second, that in the intermediate and higher education 
there was marked inequality in benefit. For this inequality, how- 
ever, partial amends were made in the provisions for school 
support. This condition was tolerated because of the decline in 
educational interest and because of that combination of reverence 
for the wisdom of their forefathers and of the lack of initiative 
in all affairs, which caused them to hesitate to modify the estab- 
lished order. But when renewed activity sprang up in regard to 

(•) Hazen, Billerica, p. 193. 

(2) Bailev, Andover, p. si8. 

(3) Trumbull, Northampton II, p. 182. 

(■*) Currier, Newbury, p. 396; Boston Records, XXXI p. 209; Worcester Records, 
Worcester Society of Antiquity Proceedings, 1879, p. 70. 



The Dame School. 141 

education, and when they began to forge ahead on new paths, this 
contrast of equality and inequality in the two grades of schools 
was clear to those who were missing that benefit and they called 
loudly for its correction. 

This sentiment naturally formed about the dame school as the 
institution for the inferior instruction. It served as a centre 
for the development of a group consciousness in regard to schools. 
The movement was accelerated by the other decentralizing ten- 
dencies in church and state. Its demand was, increased recogni- 
tion from the towns for each particular group in educational 
administration. It took two forms — (i) for direct benefit from 
the town school by its being placed in each outlying section so 
that their children might have the same privilege of instruction 
in it as did the children of the centre of the town; (2) for town 
support of the dame school so that, by no longer having to support 
it for themselves, they might have some compensation for the 
disadvantageous conditions under which they found themselves. 
The second was seemingly a compromise ; when granted it was 
but a question of time until the town school itself was placed in 
the group formerly ministered to by the dame school. 

As the first was the cry usually of several groups, all of which 
were broadly on an equal footing, and as the centre constituted 
under normal conditions far the largest group, it became neces- 
sary for the outlying sections to unite upon a platform upon which 
they could all stand in opposition to the strong centre. This 
was, naturally, equal benefit from the school for all the sections 
and this meant dividing the term into as many parts as there were 
groups of people and moving it around from section to section 
until the entire circle was complete. ^^^ 

Having described the process, it remains to show how it worked 
out in concrete instances. We shall first give examples of the 
first mentioned form which the demand took — namely the direct 
creation of the moving school ; and then of the second — the 
support of the dame school by the town, followed later by the 
moving school. Owing to the incompleteness of our knowledge 

(1) The fact that the division would give them the benefit of the school for but a short 
time was not an objection to those living in the outer sections. Their Dame School was 
kept during the summer only, and their reading and writing school, if they had one. for 
not more than three months; and if there was no private master's school in their midst, 
the time the moving school would be in their section would probably be as long as the time 
most of the children attended it in the town at far greater inconvenience. The outer sec- 
tions were the gainers in all cases. 



142 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

of the details of the early history of these towns, each of the 
two classes of examples has a general defect. In the former 
we are unable to state positively except in one instance that 
there were private dame schools in the outer sections of the 
town, corresponding somewhat in number and location to the 
places to which the movmg school was sent, although we know 
there were several dame schools situated at some points in the 
towns. In the latter class of towns, we know that the number 
and location of the public dame schools correspond very 
closely to the number and location of the moving school as it 
was sent on its rounds, but we do not know positively of the 
existence of the private dame school at any place in the town 
previous to the time that they received town support. There 
seems to be no reason, however, why we cannot permit the 
deficiency in the one case to supply that in the other. For the 
private dame school was universal — as the school that gave the 
inferior instruction necessary to admission to the town school. 
It must have existed prior to the time it was incorporated in the 
town school, and it must have existed in almost the same way in 
which it was incorporated — that is in groups of families forming 
more or less defined sections. 

Beginning with the first class of towns, those which show the 
direct establishment of the moving school without the intervening 
step of the incorporation of the dame school into the town system, 
Woburn furnishes a typical instance. 

Woburn we know had town dame schools from 1673 to 1694, 
and its histories say there must have been private " women's 
schools " or dame schools during the early part of the eigh- 
teenth century. The town school was kept intermittently from 
1686 to 1 701 and after that date regularly. In 1706 it became a 
moving school. In this case we lack positive evidence of dame 
schools in the outskirts of the town but it may be fairly assumed 
that there were such as the order making the grammar school 
a moving school gives us the following reason for the action : — 
" Forasmuch as our town of Woburn is situated very scattering 
and remote, so that the whole town cannot be benefitted alike ; " 
some of the dames must have lived in these scattered parts.(^> 

Billerica in 1679 stated in its report to the General Court that 
it had " also several school dames." In 1717 or thereafter the 

(•) Sewall, Woburn, pp. 52. 210, 211-13; 229, et seq. 



The Dame School. 143 

school was moved into the " several quarters " of the tov^^n, " to 
accommodate outskirts of the town."^^) There is every reason to 
believe that the conditions were no different here than in Woburn. 

Andover from 1700 on generally had a grammar school. 
School dames also kept school we know by the fact that the town 
reported to the Court in 171 3 when they were unable to secure 
a master that " we do take the best care we can for to bring up 
our children to reading by school dames." In 1719 the school 
was made a moving school, being held at first in each of the 
two precincts, and later in 1729 going into three different places 
but moving six times in the year.^^^ But here again there is lack 
of absolute proof that there were dames in the outer sections. 

In Brookline this difficulty does not appear. Since 1686 there 
had been from time to time standing schools for teaching reading 
and writing, and most probably school dames as well. In 17 10 
the town passed the following order : — " That there be liberty 
granted to erect two school houses at their own charge that im- 
prove them. Also that they maintain a good school dame half 
of the year at each house. That the town allow the charge for 
a master one quarter at one school house and the other quarter 
at the other. To teach, to write and cipher," ^'^ Here there is 
no question that the private dame schools were maintained in 
parts of the town, and that their number and location corres- 
ponded to the place in which the moving school was held. That 
the dame school was a factor in bringing about the moving 
school — that it was a centre for group feeling and action respect- 
ing schools — there can be no doubt. 

We turn now to the class of towns in which the answer to the 
demand for greater equality in the enjoyment of the privileges 
of the town school first took the form of town support for the 
dame school in the outer sections, the moving school following 
a few years later. Manchester furnishes an instance of slow 
evolution. The year 1696 gives us the first record of a town 
school. It was of the prevalent kind — the standing school. The 
next record is of the year 1718, when both a master and a dame 
were ordered hired by the town — possibly the first for winter, 
the second for summer; but it was still the standing school. 
From this time on to 1735 it is quite difficult to tell whether this 
arrangement was continued. Part of the time, as in 1727, refer- 

(1) Hazen, Billerica, pp. 252-5. 
(') Bailey, Andover, pp. 517-20. 
(3) Brookline Recs. pp. 77, 96. 

10 



144 ^^^^ Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

ence to a master only is made, in 1728 to a " master or masters ; " 
and in 1732 and 1733 the tax is levied for the support of a " free 
school or schools." Thus there may have been a moving school 
previous to 1635. I" that year it was voted to maintain a stand- 
ing master's school in the school house during the fall and winter 
and four dame schools, " one in that part of our town called 
Newport, one in that part lying near the meeting-house and one 
in that part called the plain, and one in that part of our town 
called Cettel Cove." This arrangement prevailed up to 1738. 
In that year it was voted that the master's school " be removed 
to the four quarters of the town, they in each part to provide a 
suitable house — and the time and place at the discretion of the 
selectmen." While these records do not give proof of several 
private dame schools yet the fact that a dame was em- 
ployed part of the time in the standing town school indicates 
their existence. The influence of the existence of the dame 
school upon the creation of the moving school is clear. (^^ 

Worcester from the time of the first record concerning a school 
in 1726 maintained a standing school taught wholly by a master 
until 1731. In April of that year it was ordered that " whenever 
many small children cannot attend ye school in ye centre of ye 
town by reason of ye remoteness of their dwellings and to intent 
that all children may have ye benefit of education, etc. 

" Voted that a suitable number of school dames not exceeding 
five be provided by ye selectmen at ye charge of ye town for ye 
teaching of small children to read, and to be placed in ye several 
parts of ye town as ye selectmen may think most convenient." 
The reading and writing school was ordered continued as 
formerly in the centre of the town until the next September. 
Then at the town meeting in that month it was voted that this 
school " be a moving school into the several quarters of the 
town."(^) Here the steps were taken in quick succession. This 
fact served to make the influence of the private dame schools in 
the various sections of the town immediate and direct ; though 
probably the experience of the people with the public dame 
schools during the intervening summer played some part in 
strengthening the tendency toward equalization of school 
benefits. 



(1) Manchester Recs. I. pp. 70, 143, 144, 150, 170, 175, 180 187. igi, 198; II. pp. 22, 23, 
a6. 

(2) Worcester Recs. 1879. pp. 39, 48, 40, 50. 62, 66, 70, 73. 



The Dame School. 145 

Besides these two classes of towns there is another which 
is characterized by a combined influence of the dame school and 
the parish in causing the creation of the moving school. The 
inhabitants in the western part of Newbury began in 1685 to 
petition the town to employ a pastor for them. In 1687 the 
town voted five pounds " to each end of ye town " for a master's 
school. In 1691 the town school was moved into three places. 
That there were private dame schools in the town, is shown by 
the fact that three years later a company of six men were granted 
land upon which to build for themselves a school house " for the 
accommodation of a good and sufficient school dame." Un- 
doubtedly there were other dames teaching children of other 
groups, but for whom there did not appear the necessity of ask- 
ing a grant of land for the building of a house or any other 
favor from the town.^^^ 

Deerfield established a standing master's school in 1698. and 
maintained it thus to 1728. In that year permission was granted 
to all farmers to procure school dames, which we know to have 
been keeping school as early as 1694, to teach their children 
until October 15th, and a grammar school was ordered from that 
date until the first of the next April. This scheme seems to have 
been followed in all parts of the town, except that which later 
became Greenfield, until the time of the division of the town into 
districts in 1787. In 1732, however, specific provision is begun 
for a school dame at Green River. This continued until 1740 
when the master's school was moved to Green River for " their 
proportionable part of the year." Here, evidently, were private 
dame schools which were the centres of group consciousness 
regarding schools, creating a sentiment for division of school 
privileges and operating with the parish sentiment in securing 
the moving of the town school for part of the year.^^^ 

This is also an example of the influence of the dame school upon the 
establishment of the "divided" school. It is noteworthy also for the fact 
that here all the steps of the evolution are complete, — private dame 
school — public dame school, divided school, and in a partial manner, 
the moving school. 

Of the private reading and writing schools less is known. 
Histories of the towns of less than fifty householders at this 



(') Currier, Newbury, pp. 399-401. 

(2) Sheldon, Deerfield I. pp. 272-4, 570; II. pp. 839-40, 842. 



146 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

time assert the existence of schools previous to a record of their 
maintenance by the town, basing their assertions presumably 
upon the known interest of the people in education and the fact 
that they were supported without the town rate/^^ Thus New- 
hall in his history of Lynn concludes there must have been a 
school in Lynn about 1642 and during the intervening period 
to 1691, when there is a record of the town choosing a master. 
Lewis in his annals of the same town states " Mr. Shepherd 
kept the school several months this winter. — A month or two 
in the winter, under the care of the minister, was the principal 
opportunity that they had to obtain the little learning requisite 
for their future life." ^'' Likewise Bailey's Andover asserts 
that the ministers kept the first schools and down to 1700.^^^ 
An account of the school in Concord previously quoted states : 
" as for schools we have in every quarter of our town men and 
women that teach to read and write English when parents can 
spare their children and others to go to them." (*^ 

That " there were usually some men and some women with 
sufficient education to teach the rudiments — who could receive 
scholars at their homes and charge two pence to six pence for 
instruction " at the time of the first settlement of the town is the 
statement made by a writer of several town histories. ^^^ These 
schools referred to above were probably all reading and writing 
schools (except the dame school in the last reference). It is 
to be noted that these were held in the winter time and likely 
most often in the large well-warmed kitchen of a private house. (®^ 
When the town had grown sufficiently to come under the opera- 
tion of the law, we then find sometimes, as in Billerica, that they 
made a private master, the town's schoolmaster, though he drew 
no pay from the town.^^^ 

Record of the existence of private reading and writing schools 
are found in the larger towns contemporaneously with town 
schools. In Boston in 1667 " Mr. Will Howard was granted 
liberty " to keep a writing school to teach children to write and 
keep accounts," and in the following year Mr. Robert Canon 

(1) Sewall, Wobum, p. si- 

(2) Newhall, Lynn, pp. 203, 292; Lewis, Lynn, p. 170. 

(3) Bailey, Andover, p. 517. 
(*) Wolcott, Concord, p. 120. 

(5) Temple, North Brookfield, p. 199. 

(') Ibid, p. 199. 

P) Hazen, Billerica, pp. 193, 253. 



The Dame School. 147 

was " licensed to keep school." In 1712, the year a law was 
passed by the General Court requiring that the teacher of private 
schools receive the approval of the selectmen/^) three masters 
and one mistress were permitted to continue, stating in two of 
the cases, " as they have heretofore done." Mention is made of 
them in Salem and Boston frequently after this time.^'^ The fact 
that there were private schools in Boston, and possibly in Salem, 
during this time gives confirmatory evidence of their existence 
in other towns as well. 

The influence of these reading and writing schools upon the 
creation of the moving school was the same in kind as those of 
the dame school. It may have been greater in degree for the 
reason that it was the same grade of school as that maintained 
by the town, and the custom of keeping such a school in the outer 
sections of a town would produce a stronger feeling and a more 
persistent action in securing equality of benefit from the town 
school. But on this point we do not have sufficient material 
to form a judgment. 

The cases wherein this effect is shown are not complete in a 
single instance. All of them are like the second class of cases 
presented under the dame school, and do not show the existence 
of the private schools before their incorporation into the town 
school. It cannot well be doubted in the light of what has already 
been said in this chapter, however, that they existed. The cases 
are also few in number. This is as would be expected. When 
the town school of the same grade was established, the natural 
tendency would be for the children to go to them, and for the 
private reading and writing school to cease, except in those 
towns where there were exceptional conditions. 

Newbury from 1652 to 1687 maintained only a standing 
master's school. In that year as has just been noted in the dis- 
cussion of the dame school the inhabitants provided for schools 
at " the ends." The fact was not emphasized there, however, 
that these schools were to be taught by masters " for ye teaching 
of children to read, write and cipher." Four years later the 
school was made a moving school. ^^^ 



(') Prov. Laws I. p. 68i. 

(') Boston Recs. VII. pp. 36, 43; Boston Rec. XI. pp. 165, 172, et seq.; Felt, Salem I. p. 
442, et seq. 

(') dttrrier, Newbury, p. 400. 



148 The Uiigiii of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

Lunenberg had its first town meeting in 1728, but no action 
was taken concerning schools until 1732. Then it was voted 
to have a school kept by a master to teach reading and writing, 
or a grammar school master in case the additional charge was 
met in some other way. But instead of this school there seems 
to have been four schools kept by masters, for at the next March 
meeting four men were ordered paid for keeping school in the 
town small amounts varying from thirteen shillings to three 
pounds. The next winter there was a town reading and writing 
school for three months. In the following year a moving school 
was ordered to be kept in three places " by some suitable person 
at such price as ye said committee shall agree for." In 1736 
dame schools were ordered " as they [the selectmen] shall see 
meet." ^^^ 

In Sutton the schools kept by the masters do not appear until 
after the standing school, but no doubt they were a survival 
of the earher time. The first school in 1730 was a moving school, 
held in four places, one month in each. In 1731 school dames 
were supported by the town, In 1733 there was a standing town 
school ; in the following year, three men were paid for teaching 
one month each, and the master for the previous year was paid 
for a time not specified. Probably he taught for a longer period. 
By the next year he had risen to the dignity of " ye town's 
schoolmaster." In 1737, if not before, the school became a mov- 
ing school again. <^) The influence of the private masters school 
upon the founding of the moving school is here very plain. 

In conclusion, it is to be noted that in those towns where the 
reading and writing masters were found, that there were also 
school dames. This indicates the relationship of the two insti- 
tutions to each other and their common relationship to the town 
school when they were located in the outer sections of the town. 
The dame school was the summer school ; the master's school, 
the winter school, of these people. They gave birth to the same 
thoughts, feelings, and actions in regard to sharing in the town 
school, to the support of which the people contributed, and in 
determining the place where the moving school should be held. 
Of all the decentralizing tendencies then working in Massachu- 

(') Lunenberg Recs. pp. 77, 7q, 83, 85, 94. The use of the word "person" permitted 
the employing? of either a master or a dame. Its use is significant for this reason whenever 
met with in the records. 

(2) Benedict & Tracy, Sutton, pp. 49Q-500. 



The Dame School. 149 

setts society this was probably the most powerful though not 
the most immediate in producing the moving school/^) 

(*)Of all the towns referred to in the previous chapters, and not in this, 
some never had a moving school, but established the divided school at 
the beginning of their modification of the central standing school. This 
was true in Springfield, Salem, Northampton (the school in the South 
parish was moved), and Boston. In Braintree and Plymouth the situ- 
ation is involved, but the influence is clear. In Dedham and Watertown 
no evidence of the influence of the private schools has been found. The 
records of some other towns cease before the erection of the moving 
school, and of others the town histories which have been used on other 
questions cannot be depended upon here. To this class belong Dor- 
chester, Ipswich, Charleston, and Cambridge. 



CHAPTER X 

THE ABOLITION OF THE TUITION-TAX 

The last years, of the seventeenth century and the first of the 
eighteenth were the " dark days " of New England. It was the 
time when the intellectual and educational life reached its lowest 
ebb. The principles and the spirit of the earliest settlers had 
gradually lost their hold upon society during the preceding fifty 
years and as yet no new influence had come in to guide and 
animate its life. It was also a time of war ; the resources of the 
colony were sapped almost to exhaustion ; the lives of many of 
the men were sacrificed in battle ; and commerce and industry 
were sadly interrupted. In the midst of this low and discourag- 
ing condition of afifairs, a change in the form of political govern- 
ment was made. This was not, however, to them a wholly un- 
mitigated evil. For by it permanency and security in the relation 
to the mother country was gained ; and the liberty of self-govern- 
ment was not interfered with to any great extent. 

There were, however, in the midst of this low condition of 
affairs, signs of the upward movement. In the realm of educa- 
tion, it first appeared in a few hours and gradually widened 
until it had gained sufficient strength to secure the passage of 
laws by the provincial legislature. With these laws as a coercive 
force it was not long until all but the smallest of the towns 
felt its influence. There was then produced an educational re- 
vival, not in the extension or the enrichment of the curriculum 
but in the spreading of benefits of the existing curriculum to all 
the children. Not this alone, however, for in this same revival 
the privileges of an education in a state elementary school free 
of tuition charge was secured to every child. These two results 
were in many towns a joint product of the same movement. Low 
social and economic conditions compelled the abandonment of 
the tax on scholars and entire support by the town rate ; this in 
turn brought about the creation of the moving school. To under- 
stand this step, we must know the process from its beginnings. 
This chapter is an attempt to present this educational revival 
in so far as the elements of school support and its effect upon 
the exterior form of the school are concerned. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 151 

The educational revival began to appear locally in a few towns 
as early as 1680. Boston in 1683 established in addition to its 
town grammar school two town reading and writing schools in 
different parts of the town. These were free to all the children 
of the town, although it was urged that " such persons as send 
their children to school (as are able) should pay something to 
ye master for his better encouragement."^ ^^ Two years previous 
Salem received the first of her large gifts from several mem- 
bers of the Brown family, part of which, if not all, were intended 
to lessen the cost of the charges made upon the pupils for 
attendance. By 171 2 a number of other gifts and bequests had 
been made in the support of a writing school which was estab- 
lished in that year. Dedham in 1680 was presented with sixty 
pounds to be used as an endowment in the support of its Latin 
School.(2) 

It was not until 1701 that the movement had gathered suffi- 
cient strength to secure legislation of a really mandatory char- 
acter through which means every town large enough to have a 
school could be reached. A penalty of a fine was provided for 
in the very first legislation upon schools in 1647.^^^ ^^ 1671 ^*^ 
the fine of five pounds for neglect in cases of both grammar and 
reading and writing schools was increased to ten pounds in the 
case of the former. The reenactment of the original laws in 
1692 ^^) fixed again the penalty for both kinds of schools at the 
same amount, and in doing so reduced the amount of the penalty 
imposed upon towns of two hundred householders. (•'^ The law 
of 1701 ^^) doubled the penalty for both schools. Twenty pounds 
was almost sufficient to pay the wages of a reading and writing 
master for an entire year ; and it was a considerable share of the 
annual wage necessary to secure a grammar master. The law 
was, in effect, mandatory. Furthermore the vigilance of the 
courts of quarter sessions seems likewise to have been increased 
at the same time. The result was a more effective administration 
of the central government. Seventeen years later it became 
necessary, however, to still further increase the penalty on towns 
having 150 householders and over, the amount increasing with 

(0 Boston Recs. VII. p. i6i. 

(*) Felt, Salem I. pp. 43s, 436, 430. 440-2, 443, 445, 446-7: Dedham Rec. V. p. 98. 

(3) Mass. Col. Recs. II. p. 203. 

(O Ibid IV. Pt. I. p. 486. 

(5) Prov. Laws I. pp. 62-3. 

(«) Law of 1683, Mass. Col. Recs. V. p. 414. 

(') Prov. Laws I. p. 470. 



152 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

the population, at the rate of ten pounds for every fifty house- 
holders/^^ 

This legislation caused in many towns a change in the manner 
of raising the master's wages. The intellectual decline and the 
distance the children on the outskirts had to travel, the presence 
of the dame schools, which furnished the rudiments of an educa- 
tion, and of the private master's schools in the outer sections, the 
dissensions and quarrels among the people, and the strong self- 
assertion of the individual in the democratic town meeting had 
all developed an indifference to the town school. It became more 
difficult to get the town rate voted ; on the other hand, there was 
opposition to the payment of tuition upon the part of those who 
had to come far and a total lack of attendance on the part of some 
from all over the town because of the expense involved, so that it 
became increasingly difficult to get a sufficient amount of money 
from all sources to employ a master. This was all the more 
difficult by reason of the fact that at this time masters properly 
qualified and satisfactory to the court were scarce and in conse- 
quence were able to hold out for high wages. This inability to 
get funds wherewith to pay the master by the use of the old 
method of a combined town rate and a tax on the scholars who 
attended, forced its abolition, and the substitution of the town 
rate alone. But the price of this was the establishment of the 
moving school. The opposition to the town rate, not taking 
into account the opposition which always comes from the selfish 
property holder who has no children or from those who are 
opposed to schools, came from those who lived in the outer 
sections. The reason was that they did not get proportionate 
benefit in return. The partial payment of the master by tuition 
was in its eflfect a concession to this inequality. But it was not 
sufficient. To get the vote of the outer sections for a long time 
for the school rate, it was necessary that a scheme be devised 
whereby they could participate more directly in its benefits. On 
the other hand, the strong sense of justice which was developed 
by the constant assertion of the selfish interest caused those liv- 
ing in the centre to appreciate when the town rate alone was 
adopted, as they had not before, the right of the outer sections 
to easier access to the privileges of the town school. Hence the 
practical sagacity of the democratic assemblies formed the new 

(') Prov. Laws II. p. 100. 



The Abolition of the Tnitwn-l'ax. 153 

institution — the moving town school, going into all the parts 
of the town in such manner as would give greatest benefit to the 
greatest number. 

This process as it evolved in the various towns must now be 
traced. Boston is to be excluded from its operation at once, for 
the reason that its interests as a commercial and industrial town 
unified its political and social life, and its concentrated popula- 
tion did not make a demand for the moving school. Its more 
lively interest in educational matters likewise prevented the keep- 
ing of schools for a short term. The same is to be said of Salem. 
In Boston, moreover, the main support of the school had been 
mainly by rate for many years. However, both towns recognized 
the justice of the demand of those who inhabited the agricultural 
regions of their towns for separate schools about the year 1700: 
Boston, for Muddy River, or Brookline, Rumney Marsh, and 
the North End ; Salem, for the Village, Ryall Side, and the Middle 
Precincts.^^^ In these actions the workings of the same principles 
as those which caused the moving schools in the rural towns is 
observed, though here the major force was the element of justice 
in the people of the centre rather than that of the selfish demand 
of the other sections. 

There are two towns which present the working of the process 
in the clearest manner ; one. a town which paid little or no atten- 
tion to schools in an early day ; the other, a town which main- 
tained its school regularly for years, but later allowed it to lapse 
into decline. As the former is probably more typical of the ma- 
jority of the towns, its development will be given first. 

The first record of a town school in Maiden ^-^ is found in 
the court records of Middlesex County. In 1671 the town was 
presented for not maintaining a school according to law. How- 
ever, its committee satisfied the Court and the complaint was 
dismissed. The first mention of the school in the town records 
is under the date of i6gi, where it reads, " Ezekiel Jenkins con- 
tinuing to be the town's schoolmaster." In 1697 " John Moulton 
chosen schoolmaster " is the record, while that of two years later 
reads, " John Sprague chosen schoolmaster for this present year ; 
for one year. It is left to ye selectmen to agree with him what 



(1) Boston Recs. VII. p. 240; Felt's Salem I. p. 440. 
(') Corey, Maiden, pp. 601-24. 



154 ^^^^ Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

he should have for his encouragement to keep school for one 
year." The absence of any mention of money to be paid him by 
the town except in the last case shows clearly that this was an 
instance where a private schoolmaster who got his pay from the 
scholars direct by way of tuition was by the town's act from 
time to time made the town's schoolmaster, thus enabling the 
town to comply with the law and without changing the character 
of the support.(^^ The " encouragement " indicates the failure 
of tuition to give the master sufficient return to secure his ser- 
vices. It was not looked upon so much as a salary as a gift. 
Its purpose was to make him more inclined to keep school for an 
income which his calculations led him to believe would come in 
from tuition. The town extended it to him for the reason that 
it had to satisfy the law. Support by tuition alone failed. 

Apparently John Sprague continued the school for two years. 
Then the town permitted the school to cease for some time, for, 
in December, 1701. the town was again presented " for ye want 
of a schoolmaster." 

The school was not discontinued because the master was un- 
satisfactory, but because of the difficulty of coming to an agree- 
ment on salary. Either the master's previous income from the 
combined " encouragement " and the tuition of scholars was 
insufficient and he demanded an income which the town was un- 
willing to pay, or the town refused to give him longer the same 
amount and he refused to teach for less. Which of these was 
true will appear in the reading of the next act of the town. 

But the town escaped the payment of the fine by employing 
Mr. Sprague before the case was called. Evidently the town 
was compelled to accede to his terms for the record of the court 
states that the selectmen " informed the Court that they have 
agreed with John Sprague till next March. The Court accepts 
him and dismissed paying fees." This agreement has not been 
preserved, but the act passed by the town the following March 
reveals its nature as well as the agreement for the year ensuing. 
It tells us, also, why Maiden had been without a master for a 
time. " John Sprague is chosen schoolmaster for ye year en- 
suing to teach children to read and write and to refmetick accord- 

(1) This arrangement would not be possible where there were poor children unless ths 
master was charitably inclined, which is not at all improbable in many instances, or unlese 
it was the custom of the town to let the well-to-do parents pay for the education of the 
children of the poor, not specifically, but by paying the higher tuition demanded of them 
by the master on account of his teaching the poor. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 155 

ing to his best skill. And he is to have ten pounds paid him by 
ye town for his pains. The school is to be free for all ye inhabi- 
tants of this town " This leaves no doubt that the previous 

method of support of combined town tax and tuition had not 
provided sufficient funds and that the master was demanding 
more from the town, which increase the town refused to give. 

The combined town tax and tuition had failed to afford a 
legal school. It was succeeded by the town rate alone, the legal 
character of which could not admit of failure. 

But not all the record of the town's act in this annual meeting 
in March 1702 was quoted. The part which follows sets forth 
the change that it was necessary to make in the exterior form of 
the school in order to pass the school rate in the town meeting. 
The record continues from the point where it was interrupted in 
the preceding paragraph (repeating the last clause) " The school 
is to be free for all ye inhabitants of this town: and to be kept 
at four several places one quarter of a year in a place: In such 
places where these five men shall appoint, namely — [the five 

men are here named] : who are chose by ye town for that 

purpose." It is evident that the town saw that it had to have a 
school in order to escape paying the twenty pound penalty, that 
in order to have a legal school it had to pay the master's wages 
by a town rate, and in order to carry the town rate it was neces- 
sary to grant to the inhabitants living in the outer sections of the 
town direct and easy benefit from the school for their children. 
The outer sections had undoubtedly said " If we pay as great 
a proportion of the support as the centre, we are entitled to a 
proportionate return from the school. We shall not vote the tax 
unless it is agreed to locate the school so each section may for 
part of the year enjoy as easy access to the school as any other 
section." And the inhabitants of the centre were forced to yield; 
Thus the abandonment of the partial support of the master by 
tuition produced the moving school. 

The way in which the town administered its school after this 
date still further confirms this conclusion. In the following year 
the inhabitants succeeded in finding a man who would teach on 
the old plan of support. This method enabled the town to escape 
the payment of the fine at a less cost to itself, so the combined 
forces of those that were opposed to public expenditure for the 
support of schools, and of those in the centre who wished the best 



156 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

educational advantages for their children (it is difficult to state 
which motive was the stronger) won the day and, as the record 
reads, " Ezekiel Jenkins is chosen schoolmaster for the present 
year : and the school to be kept at his own house ; he to have 
three pounds for ye year; and ye benefit of ye scholars." The 
week previous it had been voted " that ye school shall be kept in 
ye watch-house for this year." It may be assumed, therefore, 
that his residence was near the centre of the town. The following 
year his pay from the town was reduced to thirty shillings. He 
remained as master until his death in 1705, when Nathaniel Waite 
was chosen on the same terms. He continued to serve for small 
payments from the town and the " benefit of the scholars " to 
1709, although at one time there was apparently a refusal to 
teach on his part which caused the town to be presented again. 
Then another oft'er was made to get John Sprague to teach, but 
he refused unless paid by town rate. In 1709 another master 
was chosen, to receive only two shillings from the town ; and in 
the following year a man was found who agreed to teach for the 
tuition alone and he was accordingly elected. Evidently he was 
just the kind of a man for whom they had been long seeking. 
All of these masters taught in the centre of the town, and the 
amount of the town rate was small. Under such conditions the 
outer sections could not demand the school for a part of the time. 
But the town was in 1710 compelled to return to the plan of 
1701. Moses Hill who had agreed to keep the school for the 
benefit of the scholars alone found it not a paying venture. The 
town was presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions and ordered 
to get a master before the next meeting of the Court. Within 
ten days after the order of the court the town met and elected 
Nathaniel Waite master and " voted that the school shall be re- 
moved into three parts of the town, the first half in ye centre, 
and one quarter in ye southwardly end and one quarter in ye 
northwardly end of ye town." But the town would not agree to 
Waite's proposition. Another meeting under the pressure of 
apprehension of the fine was held two days later. The master 
elected refused to accept. They failed also in their third attempt. 
Finally a master was secured at a salary of sixteen pounds and 
ten shillings for six months, the school to be held in two places. 
A few days later the selectmen again appeared before the court, 
" exhibiting a note under ve hand of Mr. Samuel Wigglesworth " 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 157 

[the master] and, their report being accepted, they were dis- 
missed. The town had learned a lesson from the Court and 
thereafter a stated provision by town rate was made for the 
school and nothing more is heard of the " benefit of scholars." 
The moving school was likewise thereafter a permanent 
feature of their school administration. There is no doubt that 
the same principle worked in this action as in that of 1701 — the 
demand for the return from the money voted for schools by 
those in the outer sections of the town. 

In 1667 (^) the school of Watertown was made free to all the 
inhabitants of the town. Mr. Richard Norcross, who had been 
the master since 1651. was in that year paid thirty pounds a year 
out of the town rate. He continued teachmg at the same salary 
until 1675. when his long service suffered its first interruption. 
In that year Mr. Goddard kept the school at the same wage.<2> 
Not all the elements in the controversy, which now occurred, can 
be ascertained. However, the question of the kind of school, the 
amount of salary, and the personality of different teachers seem 
to be some of the elements involved. The first two are of interest 
to us in this study for there was seemingly an effort to do away 
with instruction in Latin, a thing they could not do without 
violating the law. There was also an effort to get a master for 
lower terms and also to change the character of support. All 
of these tendencies are easily understood and are to be accounted 
for by the decline in the interest in education and the stringent 
economic conditions of the times. People were beginning to 
venerate less the old curriculum ; they had of necessity become 
very frugal. They were coming to the conclusion that those 
who pursued Latin should pay for it themselves and that the town 
should no longer bear that charge. This growing sentiment 
probably accounts for the failure to hire Mr. Norcross any longer 
and for the irregular actions of the town for the succeeding five 
years. These years now require more definite notice. 

After Mr. Goddard had served his year ending about May first 
1676 at thirty pounds, no action was taken regarding schools until 
the next November, when it was " left with the selectmen to agree 
with a schoolmaster as cheap as they can."<3> There is no record 
of a master being hired, however. The discussion regarding the 

(') Watertown Recs. I. p. oi. 

(2) Ibid I. p. 123. 

(3) Ibid I. p. 127. 



158 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

method of paying the master's salar)' was evidently rife during 
the winter for the question was voted on in the succeeding March 
when " the town declared by a vote that they would have the 
school kept a free school as formerly."^ ^^ The school was an 
English school and the salary of Lieut. Sherman, the master, 
was twenty pounds. ^-^ Nevertheless Mr. Goddard seems to have 
continued as the grammar master with a small stipend from the 
town. We cannot solve the intricacies of the record further. 
In 1680 the warrant for the town meeting read — " to call ye 
town together so ye town may come to some loving agreement 
and conclusion about a schoolmaster. "(^^ During that year 
Lieut. Sherman's school, presumably an English school merely, 
was the only one held. In the following year it was ordered 
by the town that the committee chosen by the town secure a 
schoolmaster outside the town " that may answer ye law " and 
the trouble seems to have come to an end.^*^ 

The result of this period of turmoil was a decline in the amount, 
and a slight change in the method, of support. The school was 
still maintained as a grammar school so as to comply with the 
colonial law. Incidentally, it is to be noted that Mr. Norcross 
again took up his old duties, though we can judge with little or 
no kindly feeling, for he must have felt keenly the change that 
was coming over the people since the early days and their ap- 
parent ingratitude to him for his long labors. Furthermore, it 
was a changed regime in which he was now entering, and he 
must have foreseen it and dreaded the consequences it might 
bring forth. The committee not being able to find any master 
out of town, the town-meeting of next August (1681) elected Mr. 
Norcross, agreeing to give him twenty-five pounds out of the town 
rate instead of thirty as formerly, but in addition " he was to 
have benefit of ye Latin scholars over and above said twenty- 
five pounds, and that to be as ye parents or governors of said 
Latin scholars and Mr. Norcross can agree — and said Mr. 
Norcross do engage to save ye town harmless from fine — [until 
time for his year proper to begin] — by teaching such Latin 
scholars as shall be sent to his house. "^^^ That is, the town 
refused longer to support the grammar school proper, although 

(1) Watertown Recs. I. p. 128. 

(2) Ibid I. p. 129. 

(3) Ibid I. p. 144. 
{*) Ibid II. p. 8. 
(») Ibid II. p. 9. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 159 

the instruction in the elementary subjects was paid wholly by 
town rate as before. It is also evident that the town provided a 
man who could teach Latin only because the Court required it. 

This method of school support prevailed until 1690. Its last 
years were marked by failure. Beginning in 1686, the school 
was maintained for but one half a year. From that time to 1690 
the school was not maintained constantly, and the town was 
presented for failure to keep the school according to law. If 
we stop to inquire into the reasons for this, the only thing which 
appears on the records is a vote of 1683, that those dwelling on 
the west side of Stony Brook " should be freed from paying to 
the school in the year 1683 to the end they may be better able to 
teach their children amongst themselves."^^) This record in- 
dicates that the people living in the outer sections of Watertown 
were becoming conscious of the fact that they were not receiving 
their proportional benefit from the town school. If one section 
secured relief from paying the teachers, it follows that other 
groups felt an injustice in paying the rate. This naturally caused 
a disinclination to vote the rate, and hence the failure to main- 
tain the school constantly during the years 1686 to 1690 and the 
consequent presentment to the Court. The failure of the old, 
and the necessity of the new method, of support was fully demon- 
strated. The town rate could no longer be levied for a central 
school. 

The last decade of the century was the period of the combina- 
tion of the town tax and the rate on scholars in the support of 
a central school. The town which had reached the highest point 
in the evolution of public school support had been compelled to 
regress. Under the proddings of the Court the town moved in 
1690 to " keep " school " according to law."(2) In a later meet- 
ing of the same year it was " voted that the town will allow 
fifteen pounds towards a schoolmaster's maintenance provided 
that any of the inhabitants can agree with a person to keep the 
school so as to answer the law."(») Evidently, the movement 
which appears in the minutes of the selectmen a few weeks later 
had already made some progress and was the occasion for this 
action. The sub-committee of the selectmen reported that they 
had agreed with Nathaniel Stone "to keep the school twenty 

(•) Watertown Recs. II. p. i-?. 

(2) Ibid II. p. ,9. 

(3) Ibid II. p. 42. 

II 



i6o The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

persons having engaged to him to pay or see him paid ten pounds 
in money. . . .and also the fifteen pounds granted by the town."^^^ 
Without doubt most of these persons hved sufficiently close to 
the school for their children to get the benefit. This action repre- 
sented the principle that payment should be made to the school 
in proportion to the benefit received. The town as a whole would 
vote fifteen pounds to avoid paying the fine of ten pounds but it 
would not stand more. The advantages enjoyed by the centre 
were in the estimation of its people sufficient to make the addi- 
tional payment a just charge upon them. 

This enunciation of the principle that the central school could 
not be supported wholly by a town rate received frequent repeti- 
tion in the next few years. In 1693 the town still further limited 
the amount of the rate. The selectmen were instructed to get a 
master " provided they do not engage above five pounds in or 
as money." <-> The method adopted as a result was the regular 
combination of the town rate and tuition-tax. Mr. Norcross 
was again employed as the master to receive the five pounds 
from the town, three pence a week from reading, four pence from 
writing, and si.x pence from Latin, scholars. But even under 
these conditions there was opposition to the school. In 1696 the 
town refused to pay twenty pounds and then sent a committee 
" to pray the Court not to impose a fine on the town ; and to in- 
form the Court it is hopeful that the town will be provided with 
a school before the next quarter session." (^^ On February first 
of the following year the town voted not to have a grammar 
school, but fearing the consequences, another town meeting, 
doubtless with other persons present, three weeks later rescinded 
the action, appropriated ten pounds from the town stock, and 
ordered " all scholars that are sent " to pay according to the 
studies pursued. ^^^ Mr. Goddard was again selected. Two 
vears later he was elected in town meeting on the same terms to 
continue as long as he wished. It is not clear how long he re- 
mained, but it is plain that he did not receive part of the pay due 
him from the town.^^^ As a result of his ceasing his labors the 
town found itself without a master in the year 1700 and with a 
fine imposed upon it by the Court of Quarter Sessions for its 

(1) Watertown Recs. II. p. 43- 

(2) Ibid II. p. 62. 

(3) Ibid II. p. 108. 

(4) Ibid II. p. no. 
(6) Ibid II. p. 139. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. i6i 

neglect/^^ The town proceeded in the same course the following 
year with Mr. Norcross again as master. But the town seems 
to have learned its lesson from this fine. The passage of the 
law of 1 70 1 by the General Court, doubling the amount of the 
penalty, caused the inhabitants not to hesitate longer to make 
such an adjustment of their school administration as to secure 
them from future liability. 

With 1701 begins the direct approach to the moving school. 
In the previous decade the unsatisfactory character of the stand- 
ing school, even with the larger part of the salary paid by those 
whose children attended, was shown. A different adjustment in 
order to comply with the law was necessary. At this point there 
appears for the first time in school affairs the struggle that had 
been going on for some years between the different sections of 
the town in church affairs. This, no doubt, intensified the group 
feeling during the preceding decade and the disinclination of those 
at a distance from the school house to grant the school a large 
share of support by the town rate. In October 1701, five 
months after the passage of the provincial law, the agitation 
aroused by it was sufficient to cause the selectmen to call a town 
meeting to consider the question how " to build or procure a 
convenient place to keep a school in so that the inhabitants may 
be better accommodated to have their children taught to read and 
write. Also to take care to procure some meet person to keep a 
grammar school in said town as law requires, and to grant a 
salary for said service."^-^ But the constable in the middle 
section of the town refused to warn the inhabitants and to return 
the order that he had so done.^"^^ The meeting was therefore 
compelled to adjourn without action. The reason for this, and 
also the bearing of the whole matter upon the question in hand, 
is shown in the difference between the first call of the selectmen 
and the second in the month following. They are of the same 
tenor throughout except that instead of stating " to build or pro- 
cure a convenient place to keep a school in." it reads " to take 
care to build or procure a place, or places."^*"^ This town meeting 
was accordingly held after warning in proper form and its action 



(1) Watertown Recs. II. p. 132. 

(2) Ibid II. p. I.-59. 

C) The part played by the westerly section, that which later became Weston, is un- 
certain. 

(*) Watertown Recs. II. p. 140. 



i62 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

was that which we would be inclined to expect. It was then 
voted " that they will have a grammar school as the law 
requires : and said school to be kept the first quarter of the 
year at the old school house, and the second quarter of the year 
in the middle part of said town in such place as the town shall 
appoint : and the third quarter of the year at the old school house ; 
and the fourth quarter of the year in such place in the middle 
part as the inhabitants of the town shall appoint."^^^ A rate of 
thirty pounds was also voted, the master to teach " the grammar 
as the law requires," reading, and writing. Those who sent their 
children in the winter season were required to bring a quarter 
of a cord of " good wood for their firing." ^-^ There was no 
charge upon the scholars for the master's salary. 

The uncertainty of being able to keep a master from year to 
year by a combination of the town rate and a charge on scholars 
had been fully proven. At the same time it was clearly evident 
that this was the only method by which the standing school could 
be maintained. The increased penalty of the law of 1701 made it 
prudent that something be done to better this precarious con- 
dition of affairs. But how was it to be done? The middle sec- 
tion of the town was clamoring for equal school advantages as 
well as equal church privileges, though perhaps not so vocife- 
rously. Yet their views in the solution of the question had to 
be reckoned with and their opposition appeased. They would 
not vote favors for the school in the eastern section even to save 
the town from a fine. They would support the school in an 
equal measure provided they got equal benefit. Consequently, 
they stood out for an equal share in the benefits of the school. 
When this was secured by a vote they were willing to vote for 
whatever was best for the school as a whole — that is the full 
support by town rate. Thus the law worked to compel the 
town rate. Division of the school was a prerequisite set up by 
those who did not fully share its benefits in order to secure their 
votes to the levy of the tax. 

As in Maiden both steps were taken at the same time. Their 
inseparable connection is clear. The entire support of the master 
by town rate and the moving school were preserved for many 
vears thereafter. 



(1) The west section of the town was excused from paying to the school on condition of 
paying the tax for the support of the ministry, and it was not considered in the appor- 
tionment of the school. This was probably a permanent arrangement. 

(2) Watertown Recs. II. pp. 140-1. 



The Abolition of the Tiiition-Tax. 163 

Having presented in detail the course of the movement in these 
two typical towns, it will be sufficient in discussing the other 
towns merely to show the connection between the abolition of the 
tuition-tax and the distribution of the school among the different 
sections. It is to be remembered in the consideration of these 
towns that the moving school was the result of the raising of the 
entire support by town rate because the outer sections would not 
vote for a large school rate unless they had some direct return 
from it in the form of a school supported wholly or partially by 
the proceeds of the tax, though they would usually vote for a 
small rate in order to save the town from the fine to which they 
would have to contribute. 

In some of the towns which follow, the moving school was not 
formed at exactly the same time that the tuition-tax was abolished. 
Usually however it followed within a few years. As the dame 
school was a factor in the evolution of the moving school, the 
connection between school support and the moving school is to be 
traced in some instances through this institution. Then there 
were other towns whose first schools were supported entirely by 
the town rate ; these invariably have the moving school or dame 
schools from almost the very beginning. These all illustrate and 
prove the principle, though in the latter class of towns the evolu- 
tion cannot be shown because these schools were founded after 
entire support by rate became general. In the former class, on the 
other hand, progress was slower and another institution mediated 
in the working out of the movement. But in all cases in which 
there was entire support by town rate, distribution of the benefits 
of the town school in some form followed soon. 

Manchester to 1724 supported its school entirely by tax on 
scholars.^^^ Then tuition was abolished and the school was sup- 
ported by the town rate entirely. But the amount given the 
master or dame to 1727 was but ten pounds, and in 1728 and 
1729 but twenty pounds. The rate for the first years was not 
sufficient to stir up any opposition from the outer sections of the 
town, neither could the double amount in the latter period have 
produced much feeling. However, the appropriation in 1730 
of forty-five pounds must have caused expression in no uncertain 
way of the demand from the outer sections for the benefit of the 
school. The next year it was cut to twenty pounds and the 
school was still maintained as a standing school. The record of 

(') Manchester Recs. I. pp. 70-155 passim. 



164 The Ongin of the Moidng School in Massachusetts. 

1632 requires more extended attention, — " twenty-five pounds for 
the support of a free school." Four months later an appropria- 
tion of twenty-five pounds more was added " for the support of 
a free school or schools/' and the committee chosen at the former 
meeting was instructed to dispose of the entire amount in the 
" hiring of a good and able schoolmaster." This indicates the 
first intention of the town to spend twenty-five pounds on a stand- 
ing school in the centre of the town and a subsequent change to 
a moving school, with an expenditure of fifty pounds. How- 
ever it is not called a moving school, and there is no mention 
of the places where it was kept. The reason for believing that 
it may have been such rests upon the fact that the phrase " school 
or schools " is used for the first of a number of times, in some 
of which it is certain that the outer sections had a town school. 
In the following year forty-five pounds was appropriated for the 
support of a " free school or schools " as before, showing the 
continuation of the same policy. No record of the action on 
schools in 1734 is extant. In 1735, the town was taxed fifty 
pounds " to support a free school in Manchester, the one-half 
of said fifty pounds to be expended to support four school dames 

[in sections of town specified] and the other half 

to keep a free school in the school house in Manchester 

in the fall and winter seasons." In 1736 fifty pounds were again 
voted " for the support of a free school or schools " with the same 
distribution of the amount. In 1637 there was a great struggle 
between upholders of the central school and of the dame schools, 
in which the former won out by a vote of twenty-one to sixteen, 
and that year the " woman schools " were supported by a public 
subscription. The next year the moving master's school became 
a permanent institution in Manchester. From all this evidence 
it seems to be established that agitation for the benefit of the 
money paid in the school rate began as soon as the amount levied 
reached the point where it was regarded as considerable, — that 
is. definitely, by the year 1730. It is clear also that this senti- 
ment produced visible results in the records within two years 
thereafter which led to the establishment of the moving school, 
either immediately or eight years later through the mediation 
of the dame school during the intervening years. ^^^ 



(1) Manchester Recs. I. pp. 154, 163, 166, 170, 173, 175, 180, 182, 184. 187, igi, 198; 
II. pp. 22, 23, 26, et seq. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 165 

To 1687, except in the earliest years, Newbury supported its 
central school by a combination of the two methods. In that 
years it was continued, but five pounds was given to each of the 
two " ends " of the town to support a school. At the same time 
the amount to be expended for the master was reduced by ten 
pounds. In 1689 the appropriation for the " ends " was omitted ; 
the centre received twenty pounds, and the scholars paid as in 
1687. In 1690, the amount was raised to twenty-five pounds. 
Apparently, the last amount was a little too large to please those 
living at a distance from the school. So in the year following 
the amount was increased to that of 1687, ^"tl the school made 
a moving school free of charge to " readers," the " ends " getting 
their return from the tax in this manner instead of in a direct 
return of the money as in that year. The connection between an 
increase in the appropriation for schools above a certain amount 
and the demand of the outer sections for a participation in its 
benefit seems clear. This principle was counterbalanced by 
other considerations, however, and the moving school was dis- 
continued at the end of the year. The tuition system had not 
lost its hold upon the people, and the town employed a master who 
was also to assist the pastor of the church. From that time 
the town history says nothing of the schools during a period of 
ten years. Then its tuition-tax had been displaced, and 
the school was a divided school. The development during these 
years could not be followed in this study even if it were desirable. 
There is no doubt, nevertheless, that the principle set forth in thi.s 
chapter prevailed in this town.^^^ 

Worcester probably supported its first school in 1726 by a 
town rate. It was a standing school until 1731. During these 
five years there were evidently diflFerences of opinion expressed 
upon two points concerning them. The first was whether they 
should have a school at all. This appears in the December meet- 
ing of 1726 and the May meeting of 1727. Whether any of the 
opposition to the school had a basis in the fact that it was a 
standing school cannot be asserted positively, but it is reason- 
able to expect that this was responsible in some measure. The 
second point was concerning the location of the school. The 
settling of this question was referred in 1730 to a committee of 
five men. There is no doubt this difficulty arose over the fact 

(1) Currier, Newbury, pp. 396-401. 



i66 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

that the school was a standing school, and that all desired to 
have it as near to their homes as possible. Six months later in 
the April meeting this sentiment realized itself in definite pro- 
vision for dame schools at the charge of the town for the 
summer ; and in the next September the master's school was 
made a moving school. It was from that time a permanent 
institution until it gave way to the divided school. The 
amounts of money expended on schools was after this time about 
double what it had been previously. The inseparable connection 
between the town rate and the moving school seems clear, though 
the one was not realized until a few years after the other.^^^ 

In Deerfield the school from 1698 to 1722 was supported 
by a combined tax on scholars and estates, the amount of the town 
rate varying from fifteen pounds to twenty pounds. In the latter 
year the children were required to furnish only firewood. The 
standing school supported by town rate remained the only town 
school for six years, the amount of the master's wages for one 
year being thirty-five pounds. The first indication given of group 
consciousness among the outer sections in school matters occurred 
in 1728 when liberty was given " to farmers to procure school 
dames to teach their children." This custom prevailed in the 
town proper until the sections became definitely marked and the 
divided school was evolved. However in 1740 the town school be- 
came a moving school going into two places in the town.^^^ 

The towns which did not have any school until the early part 
of the eighteenth century supported them from the beginning by 
town rate. All of them recognized the claim of the diflFerent 
sections of the town for the school from the first. Thus Duxbury 
in 1709, Sutton in 1730, Tisbury in 1737. Weston in 1754, and 
Fitchburg in 1764 had moving schools as their first town schools 
of which there is record. Brookline had as its first town schools 
two dame schools in summer and a moving masters' school in 
winter. (^> Lunenburg, the first year (1732) had four masters' 
schools; in 1734, four dames; and in 1737 the moving school. 
Altho Grafton's first school in 1736 was a standing school, the fol- 
lowing year it was made a moving school. Amherst's first schools 
were dame schools, which later developed into the divided school. 

(■») Worcester Recs. 1879, II. pp. 39. 47. 48, 49. 53. 59. 62, 66, 70, 73, et sech 

(2) Sheldon, Deerfield I. pp. 273-4. S7o; II. pp. 839-40. The history of Deerfield which 
is unusually full and accurate on school affairs does not give sufficient material for us to 
trace out with entire satisfaction this particular movement. 

(3) As a "hamlet" of Boston it had had previously two standing schools. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 167 

Dudley's first school in 1739 was, on the other hand, a divided 
school. So was the first school in the records of Lancaster. In 
Oxford the voting of the first school rate in 1734 carried with it 
the establishment of the moving school, though they probably 
had had a town schoolmaster for years previous. While these 
cases do not show the evolution of the moving school, they serve 
to establish the universality of the principle that total support of 
the school by town rate carried with it a distribution of the school 
to all in as equal manner as possible. ^^^ 

In some towns this recognition of the rights of the outer sec- 
tions to the town school took on the form of separate or divided 
schools. The principle of connection between the change in 
support and in the character of the school applies equally well to 
both the divided or moving school, for both were a recognition 
of the rights of the outer sections and the particular form the 
school took was a subsidiary matter. Those towns in which the 
divided school was formed from the central town school may 
be examined therefore as oflFering confirmatory evidence of the 
validity of the principle under discussion. These may be noted 
only briefly, however. 

Plymouth (~) is one of the best examples to show the close 
relationship between support and form of school. The school, 
when it was maintained, was up to 1696, a standing school. 
Tuition was the method used certainly to 1693, either in whole 
or in part, and possibly to 1696. In that year the master was 
paid thirty-three pounds, raised by rate, and the school was a 
moving school into four places. The next record of the school 
in 1699 shows it to be a central school with the combination of 
the town rate and tuition-rate. Although in 1700 the town 
ordered a school, there seems to have been none held for the 
town was presented in the following year. The school in 1703 
was evidently a central school supported by the combined 
methods. In 1704 occurred the only exception to the general 
rule — a central grammar school supported wholly by taxation. 
Most probably that method was resorted to by reason of the 



(1) Duxbury Recs., p. 208; Tisbury Recs., p. loi; Weston Recs., p. 29; Brookline Recs., 
p. 06; Benedict and Tracy, Sutton, p. 400; Fitchburg Recs. I. p. 7; Lunenburg Recs., pp. 
70, 94. 09; Pierce, Grafton, p. 259; Amherst Recs., p. 18; Dudley Recs., p. 76; Lancaster 
Recs., p. 180; Daniels, Oxford, p. 96. 

(') It is interesting to observe in some of the cases, as Plymouth and Braintree, how the 
moving and divided school were both used. 



i68 The Origin of Ike Moving School in Massachusetts. 

fear of the fine ; it was the only method by which the town could 
then furnish a school. The opposition of the outer sections is 
evidenced in the act of the town for the following year. It was 
then arranged that the town should give twenty pounds a year 
for seven years and that " sundry inhabitants." presumably in the 
centre, should provide and administer a school in the centre of 
the town All scholars not children of the subscribers were re- 
quired to pay tuition in the town according to distance from the 
school. In 17 1 2 this arrangement was extended for four years. 
In 1 716 entire town support was readopted and three schools were 
established for the term of five years. In 1722 the grammar 
school was made a " movable " school in three places. The central 
town school was no more. With the exception of a single year 
in all these kaleidoscopic changes, entire support by town rate 
and a divided or moving school occurred together ; on the other 
hand, the combined method of support and the central school 
occurred together.^^) 

In Braintree " quarter money " was in all probability paid 
until 1703. The next record concerning the school is in the year 
171 5, by which time it had disappeared. The next year the 
school was made a divided school, one school being held in the 
North Parish, another in the South. In 1719 the school in the 
South Parish was made a moving school; and in 1721 there was 
an unsuccessful attempt to have the grammar school made a 
moving school between the two parishes. ^-^ 

The schools in Salem were supported entirely by gifts, income 
from funds, and tuition to 1734. Before 1700 the outer sections 
demanded a share from the proceeds of the school fund. They 
obtained it with a fair degree of regularity from 1700 to 1734. 
These outer sections spent the money as they saw fit, part of the 
time having a moving school. The desire to levy money for the 
support of this school was alleged by " the village " as a reason 
for separation from Salem proper. This agitation finally led to 
the town levying a tax for schools. The return from the first 
school tax was returned to the various sections that had paid 
it. Thus the rights of the outlying population were fully 
recognized. (^^ 



(1) Plymouth Recs. I. pp. laa, 224, i245. 246, 270, 276, 289, 303. 316, 319; II. pp. i, 
5, 8, 21, 42, 72, Q4, 97, 169, 217. 

(') Braintree Recs., pp. 2, 18, 47, 54, 86, 88, 98, 103. 
(3) Felt. Salem I. pp. 427-447. 



The Abolition of the Tuition-Tax. 169 

Springfield never had a moving school. It is different from 
the towns thus far presented in another point as well, and this 
point is of considerable importance in this connection. Although 
recognition of the rights of all the sections to a share of the 
town rate did not come until after the school was supported 
wholly by that means, yet one or two of the most populous were 
put on almost equal terms with the village proper before that 
time. Furthermore, Springfield presents a long account of great 
interest which cannot be entered upon here. The bitterness of 
the struggle and the appeals of the town first to the Court of 
Quarter Sessions and later to the General Court itself for a 
decision upon the question of the legal means of school support 
are the principal features. It seems to have been a question 
whether the combined method or the town rate alone was the 
correct one. Finally, after the final appeal to the General Court 
in 1713 the town rate seems to have been permanently adopted. 
Division of the town into six precincts came three years later, 
each precinct receiving back all the money its inhabitants paid 
in the school rate. The close relationship between the two acts 
is plain. ^^^ 

There were some towns which had a moving school before the 
abolition of the tax on scholars. Medford furnishes an example 
of this class. In 1719 its first school was supported by tuition 
alone. In 1720 the town voted an eight pound tax " for ve 
support and encouragement of ye school ye ensuing winter in 
each part of ye town namely ye east and west sides of said town." 
It seems that the raising of any amount at all by rate was a suf- 
ficient cause in the minds of the inhabitants of this town to 
demand the fullest possible participation in the benefit of the 
school. (2) The number of towns which divided or moved the 
school before tuition was abolished must have been very few, 
however, as compared with the number of towns which did not. 
Springfield and Medford are the only cases found by the author. 

It remains now to notice those towns in which a long period 
of time intervened between the time of the abolition of the tax on 
scholars and the distribution of the school among the various 
parts of the town. Those towns which had a compact popula- 

(») Burt, Springfield I. pp. 131, 137; II. pp. 137. i73. 372-3. 375. 380, 382-3, 315, 387, 
391-2, 396, 309. 

(2) Morss, The Development of the Public School of Medford. Medford Historical 
Register III. pp. 4-6, 20. 



170 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

tion would not feel this tendency. Northampton, located on the 
frontier, because of Indian troubles, was compelled to have its 
dwellings near each other. Just as soon as this danger was 
removed the population began to extend to the outer parts of the 
town. Thus in Northampton the school became free from tuition 
charges in 1692; population began to spread in 1730 and 1731 ; 
and schools were established in the outer parts in 1743, when a 
new precinct was established. ^^^ 

Dedham is another town in which the abolition of the 
tax on scholars seems to have had no appreciable effect on 
the creation of the moving school. From 1694 the school was 
supported entirely by the town rate, but the moving school was 
not established until 1717.^^^ Mr. Slafter in his study of the 
" Schools and Schoolmasters of Dedham " offers no explanation 
of the creation of the moving school.^ ^^ The author of this study 
is at a loss to estimate with any degree of confidence the weight 
of the various factors in producing the result. There 
are no other towns, however, whose records extend down 
to the time of the beginning of the moving school, or whose 
histories present sufficient material for a basis of judgment, in 
so far as the author has been able to examine them, which do not 
show clearly the working of this principle of a fair return from 
the school to all sections so soon as it became supported entirely 
by town rate. The above evidence establishes inseparable con- 
nection between the abolition of the tuition-tax and the estab- 
lishment of the moving school in a number of towns, and the 
strong influence of the former act in providing the later in many 
more. Furthermore, it is clear that it produced the divided school 
in those towns where the moving school does not appear in the 
evolution of the school district. On the other hand, there is 
nothing in the history of those few in which no connection is 
apparent to disprove the general principle. 

The abandonment of the tuition-tax is. therefore, presented 
as one of the causes, and as the most immediate cause, of the 
creation of the moving school. 



fi) Tntmbiill, Northampton I. p. 426; II. pp. 15-32. 38. 
('> Dedham Recs. V. p. 229. 
(3) Slafter, p 45. 



CONCLUSION 

As a result of this study it is clear that in the evolution of 
school control and school support each town proceeded in its 
own way, influenced comparatively little by the practices of other 
towns, and that the great steps in advance were caused by the 
legislation of the General Court. This legislation did not, how- 
ever, affect the movement directly, but indirectly, through the 
setting up of standards which it required the towns to reach, 
or through the general spirit which it expressed and which the 
towns endeavored to realize. The General Court acted, on the 
other hand, only when the measures used by the towns failed 
to bring the desired results. Thus the evolution really took 
place in the towns, with the General Court as the superior body 
compelling the advance which brought about in the towns the 
abandonment of the old and the establishment of the new. The 
movement in school control was from aristocratic to democratic 
control, in school support it was from free contribution, through 
the compulsory contribution and the combination of the town 
rate and the tuition-tax, to the town rate alone. 

The changes in society which made the old central school un- 
satisfactory were due to the decline of the dominance of the 
religious motives and the gradual introduction and growth of 
economic interests. This gradual transition produced new wants. 
One of these was the desire to live upon the farming land. 
Thus the original compact village of dwelling houses became 
dispersed. The industry of agriculture in dispersed settlements 
together with the decline of the religious motives for education 
greatly lowered the interest in schools, so that the people became 
content with short terms of instruction and meagre attainments. 
The same change in the motives of life also affected the political 
development. Aristocratic tendencies largely disappeared and 
pure democracy prevailed. The private schools furnished to 
those in the outskirts of the town the rudiments of instruction 
for as long a time as the children could well attend and at no 
greater, and possibly at a less, cost than what the parents would 
have to pay at the more distant town school. In consequence, 
it became more and more difficult to get a town rate voted, and 



172 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

a sufficient number of children to come to school to afford proper 
return from the tuition-tax. The neighborhood and parish jeal- 
ousies and quarrels contributed also to this end. 

Finally, it came to the point where schools were not being 
maintained at all in some towns, and but for a part of the year 
in many more. In this emergency the General Court stepped in, 
and for the welfare of the state increased the amount of the fine 
to be imposed on the towns for non-observance of the law. and 
caused a more rigorous enforcement of the new than of the old 
law. The towns preferred to spend their money raised by rate 
for a school than to turn it over as a fine to the neighboring 
town or towns which obeyed the law for the benefit of their 
schools. But those living at a distance from the centre refused 
to vote the town rate as the means of sole support for the school 
unless they could have more direct benefit from the school. 
The people of the centre who had been getting most benefit from 
the school were then compelled to yield to the demands of the 
outer sections and to grant the moving of the school into the out- 
lying portions of the town. — thus creating the moving school. 

This completes the presentation of the first step in the process 
of the development of the school district in Massachusetts. In 
general, the date for the completion of this step may be placed 
in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The next major 
division in that development may be placed at the year 1789 
when the school district was recognized by state law. From that 
time to 1827 was the period of the perfection of the school district. 
The steps in this latter period may be traced in a general way by 
the state laws. The middle portion of the entire development, 
that of the establishment of the school district, from 1725 to 1789, 
is not so plain. Inasmuch as the author has gathered much of 
the material for this period, he offers here the outline of that 
development as it appears to him. 

Account must be taken of four separate and distinct, yet re- 
lated, sub-movements. Each town proceeded in its own way as 
before. Some progressed rapidly along one line, other towns 
along another line. Still other towns were backward along the 
same lines in which these towns had attained considerable devel- 
opment. The rate of progress, moreover, was not uniform; 
often, also, there was retrogression. 



Conclusion. I7> 

These sub-movements and the steps in each from the moving 
school to the estabHshment of the school district were as follows : 

(i) Toward definite bounds. 

(a) Number and location of places for moving school 

changed from year to year. 

(b) School houses built and thus centres established. 

(c) Bounds between sections defined. 

(2) Toward one teacher for each section — from school to 

schools. 

(a) One teacher for the entire town. 

(b) One for part of the whole number of places or 

sections. ^ 

(c) One for each section. 

(3) Toward maximum benefit from school tax. 

(a) Length of time school kept in each place fixed 

arbitrarily. 

(b) School kept in each section according to amount of 

school tax paid by parents of children who attend 
them. 

(c) Each section receives back from the town all the 

money paid in for schools by its inhabitants. 

(4) Toward most direct control by sections. 

(a) Town meeting, the legislative organ; the selectmen, 

the ministerial organ. 

(b) Town meeting, the legislative organ; the school 

committee, the ministerial organ, chosen without 
reference to number or location of school or 
schools. 

(c) Town meeting, the legislative organ; the school 

committee, the ministerial organ, one member 
chosen from each section as its representative. 



APPENDIX A 

Entries in Town Records Concerning Schools to 1648. 

BOSTON 

From Second Report of the Record Commissioners. Boston 1881. 

13 Apr. 1635 — Likewise it was then generally agreed upon, 
that our brother Philemon Pormont, shalbe intreated to become 
scholemaster, for the teaching and nourtering of children with us. 

P- 5- 

The last record in the original first volume of town records 
is written on page 161. On page 162 are written two memoranda ; 
page 163 is blank; page 164 contains further memoranda. On 
page 165 is the record here given. 

" i2th of the 6th, August, 1636. 

At a general meeting of the richer inhabitants there was given 
towards the maintenance of a free school master for the youth 
with us, Mr. Daniel Maud being now also chosen thereunto : — 
The Governor, Mr. Henry Vane, Esq., x 1. 
The Deputy Governor, Mr. John Winthrop. Esq., x 1. 

Mr. Richard Bellingham, xl s. William Hudson, . 

Mr. Wm. Coddington, xxx s. William Pierce, xx s. 
Mr. Winthrop, Jr., xx s. John Audley, iiii s. 

Mr. Wm. Hutchinson, xx s. John Button, vi s. 
Mr. Robte. Keayne, xx s. Edward Bendall, v s. 

Thomas Leveritt, x s. Isaac Grosse, v s. 

William Coulbourn, viii s. Zakye Bosworth, iiii s. 

John Coggeshall. xiii s. iiii d. William Salter, iiii s, 
John Coggan. xx s. James pennyman, v s. 

Robte. Harding, xiii s. iiii d. John Pemberton, iii s. 
John Newgate, x s. John Bigges, iiii s. 

Richard Tuttell, x s. Sameull Wilkes, x s. 

Wm. Aspenall, viii s. Mr. Cotton, . 

John Sampford, viii s. Mr. Wilson, xx s. 

Samuel Cole, x s. Richard Wright, vi s. viii d. 

William Balstone, vi s. 8 d. Thomas Marshall, vi s. 8 d. 

William Brenton, . William Talmage, iiii s. 

James Penne, vi s. 8 d. Richard Gridley, iiii s. 

Jacob Ellyott. vi s. 8 d. Thomas Savidge, v s. 

Nicholas Willys, . Edward Ransforde, v s. 

Raphe Hudson, x s. Edward Hutchinson, iiii s. 

p. 160 Note. 



Appendix A. 175 

II Jan. 1642 — at a general Townsmeeting — "Its Ordered 
that Deare-Island shall be Improoved for the maintennance of a 
free schoole for the Towne, and such other Occasions as the 
Townsmen For the time being shall thinke meet, the sayd schoole 
being sufficiently Provided for." p. 65. 

2 Jan 1645 — at a meeting of the selectmen — "Its ordered 
that the Constables shall pay unto Deacon Eliot for the use of 
mr Woodbridge eight pounds due to him for keeping the Schoole 
the Last yeare. p. 82. 

30 Jan. 1645 — at a meeting of the selectmen — " Deare Island 
is let to hire unto James Penn, and John Oliver for these three 
years next ensuing paying unto the Use of the Schoole seaven 
pounds pef yeare." p, 82. 

The following extract from Winthrop's History of New Eng- 
land, written by him in 1645 (month and day uncertain), throws 
a flood of light upon the method of supporting the school in 
Boston. Although it is not an official record, it is because of its 
importance given a place here. 

" Divers free schools were created as at Roxbury — and at 
Boston (where they made an order to allow fifty pounds to the 
master and an house and thirty pounds to an usher, who should 
also teach to read and write and cipher, and Indians children 
were to be taught freely, and the charge to be yearly by contribu- 
tion, either by voluntary allowance, or by rate of such as refused, 

etc., and this order was confirmed by the General Court ). 

Other towns did the like providing maintenance by several 
means." Savage (new edition), II. 264. 

CHARLESTOWN 
From Frothingham's History of Charlestown, Boston, 1845. 

3 June 1636 — "Mr William Witherall was agreed with to 
keep a school for a twelve month to begin the eighth of August 
and to have four pounds this year " p. 65. 

20 Jan. 1647 — "It was agreed that a rate of fifteen pounds 
should be gathered of the town, towards the school for this year, 
and the five pounds that Major Sedgwick is to pay this year 
(for the island) for the school, also the town part of Mistick 
wear for the school forever " In the margin " allowance granted 
for the school." p. 115. 

Regarding that part of the so-called records previous to 1662 
from which the above are taken the author says : — " Its tradi- 
tionary character appears upon its face. It certainly cannot be 
relied on as to dates. Nor can the remainder of the volume be 
depended upon as an exact transcript of the original." 
12 



176 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

DEDHAM 
From Vol. Ill of Dedham Records, (Dedham 1892) 

2 Jan. 1643 " Also it was with an vnanimous consent concluded 
that some portion of land in this entended deuision should be 
set a part for publique vse : viz for the Town the Church & A 
fre Schoole viz : 40 acres at the least or 60 acres at the most."^ 

p. 92. 

I Jan. 1645 — "The sd Inhabitants takeing into Consideration 
the great necesitie of prouiding some means for the Education 
of the youth in or sd Town did with an vnanimous consent declare 
by voate their willingness to promote that worke promising to 
put too their hands to prouide maintenance for a Free Schoole 
in our said Towne. 

And farther did risolue & consent testefying it by voate to 
rayse the some of Twenty pounds p annu: towards the main- 
taining of a Schoole mr to keep a free Schoole in our sd Towne 

And also did resolue & consent to betrust the sd 2o£ p annu: 
& certaine lands in or Towne formerly set a part for publique 
vse: into the hand of Feofees to be presently Chosen by them- 
selues to imploy the sd 2o£ and the land aforesd to be improued 
for the vse of the said Schoole: that as the profits shall arise 
from ye sd land euery man may be proportionably abated of his 
some of the sd 2oi aforesaid freely to be giuen to ye vse aforesaid. 
And yt ye said Feofees shall haue power to make a Rate for the 
necesary charg of improuing the sd land : they glueing account 
thereof to the Towne or to those whome they should depute " 

p. 105. 

4 Jan. 1645 — " Granted to the Feosees for ye free Schoole in 
Dedham for the vse of the sd Schoole a percell of the Training 
ground so much as shalbe set out to them by the Towne which 
said pcell is granted from this present day vnto the last day 
of the Eight month which shalbe in ye yeare 1650 

Hen: Chickeringe Eli Lusher & Hen Phillips deputed to set 
out the sd parcell of land aboue said " p. 108 

DORCHESTER 

From Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of Boston 

(1880) 

" It is ordered that the 20th of May 1639, that there shalbe a 
rent of 2o£ yeerely foreur imposed vpon Tomsons Hand to bee 
payd p euy p'son that hath p'prtie in the said Hand according to the 
p'portion that any such p'son shall fro tyme to tyme in joy and 
posesse there, and this towards the mayntenance of a schoole in 
Dorchestr this rent of 2o£ yeerely to bee payd to such a schoole- 



Appendix A. lyy 

master as shall undertake to teach english latin and othe tongues, 
and also writing the sayd schoolmaster to bee chosen fro tyme p 
the freemen and that is left to the discresion of elders and the 
7 men for the tyme beeing whether maydes shalbe taught with 
the boyes or not. For the levying this 2oi yeerely fro the 
p'ticuler p'sons that ought to pay that according to this order. 
It is farther ordered that somme man shalbe apoynted p the 7 men 
for the tyme beeing to Receiue that and refusall to levye that 
p distresse, and not fynding distresse such p'son as so refuseth 
payment shall forfeit the land he hath in p'prietie in the sayd 
Island." p. 39. 

31 Oct. 1639 — "It is ordered that Mr. Waterhouse shall be 
dispence'd with concerneing that Clause of the order in the Charge 
of Twenty pounds yeerely, rent to be payd for Tomsons Hand 
towards the skool : where he is bound to teach to write it shalbe 
left to his liberty in that poynt of teaching to write, only to doe 
what he can conviently therein." p, 40. 

I Feb. 1641. — "The same day the Elders Mr. Stoughton and 
Mr. Glouer are intrusted p the towne to sett Tomsons Hand att a 
Rent for the best Benefitt of the schoole." p. 44. 

7 Mar 1642. — " Wheras the Inhabitants of Dorchester haue 
formerly ordered Consented and agreed that a Rate of Twentie 
pound p ann shall issue and be payd by the sayd Inhabitants and 
there heires from and out of a Certaine porcon of land in Dor- 
chester Called Tomsons Hand for and towards the maintenance 
of a schoole in Dorchester aforsayd. And that uppon experience 
it is found to be a matter of great labour and difficultie to collect 
the sayd rent from soe many severall p'sons as ought to paye the 
same accordinge there seuerall p'portions the p'sones that haue 
title to land in the sayd Hand and who therefore ought to pay the 
sayd rent, beinge noe lesse in number than Twentie pound when 
it is duly collected and payd is not of it selfe suffitient main- 
tenance, for a schoole without some addicon thervnto for the 
augmentinge therfor of the sayd rent and to the intent that the 
same may henceforth be more readily collected and payd It is 
heerby ordered and all the pesent Inhabitants of dorchester afor- 
sayd XVhose names are heervnto subscribed doe for themselues 
and there heires heerby Covenant consent and aggree that from 
henceforth the said Hand and all the benefitt and prfitts therof 
and all there right and Interest in the same shallbe wholy and 
for euer bequeathed and given away from themselues and their 
heires vnto the Towne of Dorchester aforesayd for and Towards 
the maintenance of a free schoole in Dorchester aforsaid for the 
instructinge and Teching of Children and youth in good litera- 
ture and Learninge. And to the intent that the better main- 
tenance for a free schoole as is heerby intended may arise from 
and out of the sayd Hand It is therefore the mynd of the prsent 



178 The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

donoures that the sayd Hand shall from tyme to tyme be lett, 
assigned and set otier by the Inhabitants of Dorchester for the 
time beinge or theire agents for such yearlie rent or rents as shall 
in Common Estimation amount to the full value of the sayd 
Hand." 

Memorand. that before the subscribinge of these prsents the 
donoures aforsayd did further agree and declare that it was and 
is there mynd and true intencons that if at any tyme ther shall 
happen and fall out a vacancie and want of a schoolmaster by 
means of death or otherwise, yet the rents and prfitts ishuinge 
and arisinge of the sayd Hand shalbe converted and applied only 
to and for the maintenance and vse of the schoole either by 
augmentinge the stipend for a schoolemaster or otherwise but 
not for any other vse." pp. 104-5. 

Upon a generall and lawfull warning of all the Inhabitants 
the 14th of the ist moneth 1645 these rules and orders prsented 
to the Tov/ne concerning the Schoole of Dorchester are Con- 
firmed by the maior p'te of the Inhabitants then pesent. 

First It is ordered that three able, and sufficient men of the 
Plantation shalbe Chosen to bee wardens or ouseers of the Schoole 
aboue mentioned who shall haue the charge ousight and ordering 
therof and of all things concerning the same in such manner as 
is hereafter expressed and shall Continue in their office and place 
for terme of their hues respectiuely, vnlesse by reason of any of 
them Remouing his habitation out of the Towne, or for any other 
weightie reason the Inhabitants shall see cause to Elect or Chuse 
others in their roome in which cases and vpon the death of any 
of the sayd wardens the Inhabitants shall make a new Election 
and choice of others. 

And Mr. Haward, Deacon Wiswall, Mr. Atherton are elected 
to bee the first wardens or ouseers. 

Secondly, the said Wardens shall haue full power to dispose 
of the Schoole stock whither the same bee in land or otherwyse, 
■both such as is already in beeing and such as may by any good 
meanes heereafter bee added: and shall Collect and receiue the 
Rents, Issues and p'fitts arising and growing of and from the 
sayd stock, And the sayd rents Issues and b'fits shall imploy and 
lay out only for the best behoof, and advantadge of the sayd 
Schoole ; and the furtherance of learning thereby, and shall giue 
a faythfull and true accoumpt of there receipts and disbursements 
so often as they shalbe thervnto required by the Inhabitants or 
the maior p'te of them. 

Thirdly the said Wardens shall take care, and doe there vtmost 
and best endeavor that the sayd Schoole may fro tyme to tyme 
bee supplied with an able and sufficient Schoolemaster who neu- 
Ihelesse is not to be admitted into the place of Schoolemaster 



Appendix A. 179 

without the Generall cosent of the Inhabitants or the maior p'te 
of them. 

Fowerthly so often as the sayd Schoole shalbe supplied with 
a Schoolemr — so p'vided and and admitted, as aforsayd the 
wardens shall fro tyme to tyme pay or cause to be payd vnto the 
sayd Schoolemaster such wages out of the Rents, Issues and 
p'fitts of the Schoole stocke as shall of right come due to be payd. 

Fiuethly the sayd wardens shall from tyme to tyme see that 
the Schoole howse bee kept in good, and sufficient repayre, the 
chargs of which reparacion shalbe defrayed and payd out of 
such Rents, Issues and p'fitts of the Schoole stock, if there be 
sufficient, or elese of such rents as shall arise and grow in the 
time of the vacancy of the schoolemr — if there bee any such 
and in defect of such vacancy the wardens shall repayre to the 
7 men of the Towne for the tyme beeing who shall haue power 
to taxe the Towne with such some, or sommes as shalbe requisite 
for the repayring of the Schoole howse as aforsayd 

5ly hee shall equally and impartially receiue, and instruct such 
as shalbe sent and Comitted to him for that end whither their 
parents bee poore or rich not refusing any who haue Right and 
Interest in the Schoole. pp. 54-5. 

NEWBURY 

From Currier's History of Newbury (Boston, 1902). 
" There was granted unto Anthony Somerby in the year 1639 
for his incouragement to keepe schoole for one yeare foure Akers 
of upland over the great river in the necka, also sixe Akers of 
salt marsh next to Abraham Toppan's twenty akers, the which 
twenty Akers lyes on the south side of it." p. 395. 

SALEM 

From Essex Institute Historical Collections, v. IX (Salem, 
1869). 

" Att a generall Towne meeting in le nth month 1639 

Voted — Yong Mr. Norris Chose by this assemblie to teach 
skoole " p. 97. 

" At a generall towne meeting held the 35th of the 7th moneth 
1644. 

Ordered that a note be published one the next Lecture day that 
such as have children to be kept at schoole would bring in their 
names & what they will give for one whole year & Also That if 
any poore body hath children or a childe to be put to school & 
not able to pay for their schooling That the Towne will pay it 
by rate." p. 132. 



i8o The Origin of the Moving School in Massachusetts. 

IPSWICH 

From Felt's History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton (Cam- 
bridge, 1834). 

" 1636 A grammer school is set up, but does not succeed 
p.83 "(^) 

1642 "The town votes that there shall be a free school " p.87 

(*) Felt says of this entry : "a note, though it has the appearance of being copied. " 



APPENDIX B 

The following is a portion of the Agreement entered into by 
the inhabitants of Roxbury in the " last of August 1645 " at the 
time of the establishment of " The Free School of 1645 i" i^ox- 
burie" (From Dillaway's A History of the Grammar School, 
Roxbury, i860). 

"Whereas, the Inhabitantes of Roxburie, in consideration of 
their relligeous care of posteritie, have taken into consideration 
how necessarie the education of theire children in Literature will 
be to fitt them for public service, both in Churche and Common- 
wealthe, in succeeding ages. They therefore unanimously have 
consented and agreed to erect a free schoole in the said Towne of 
Roxburie, and to allow Twenty pounds per annum to the Schoole- 
master, to bee raised out of the Messuages and part of the Lands 
of the severall donors (Inhabitants of the said Towne) in severall 
proportions as hereafter followeth under theire handes. 

(1645) "In consideration of the premises, the Donors here- 
after expressed for the severall proportions or annuities by them 
voluntarily undertaken and underwritten, Plave given and 
granted and by these presents doe for themselves their heires and 
Asignees respectively hereby give and grant unto the present 
Feoffees, 

the severall rents and summes hereafter expressed under their 
handes issueing and going forth of their severall messuages lands 
and tenements, in Roxburie hereafter expressed. To have and to 
hould receive and enjoy the said annual rents or summes to the 
only use of the Free School in Roxburie, yearly payable at or 
upon the last of September by even portions : the first portion to 
begin the last of September this present yeare." 

The author gives six men. as each pledging his dwelling house. 
He then states, — " In like manner other names, houses or lands, 
with the yearly donations against the names. But it is not neces- 
sary to insert the whole. The names and sums only will be 
copied." There were sixty-four donors, pledging in all over 
twenty-one pounds a year, the individual subscription ranging 
from one pound, four shillings to two shillings. 

The following year it was agreed " by all those of the inhabi- 
tants of Roxbury as have or shall subscribe their names or marks 
to this book for themselves severally and for their respective 
heirs and executors, that not only their houses, but their fields, 
orchards, gardens, outhouses and homesteads shall be and hereby 
are bound and made liable to and for the several sums and rents 
before and hereafter in this book mentioned to be paid by every 
of them. Dated this XXVHI of December 1646." But only 
twelve names are affixed. 



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Vti 



